I was absolutely blown away when a friend contacted me and sent me the voice mail from Northwind Associates in Buffalo, NY. Northwind Associates is a company that is calling consumers and telling them there is a lawsuit pending against them and they have 2 days to clear up the matter. They are leaving illegal voice mails on consumers telephones and even contacting a 3rd party about this “debt” which is usually far past the statute of limitations.

Northwind Associates Debt Collection Scam

Northwind Associates claims to be a Debt Collection Agency operating out of Buffalo, NY. When I called to investigate, I talked to Jason Pellegrino, who claimed to be the Director of the company.  I asked him where the company was incorporated, he claimed to be incorporated in the state of New York. But, when I did my research, there has never been a corporation in New York called Northwind Associates, so I dug deeper. Jason told me that his “company” is licensed to collect debt in the state of New York and in the state of Washington (where I’m located). When I searched the Debt Collection Licenses in NY and WA, there was NO COMPANY called Northwind or North Wind or anything similar.

Here is the information listed on their website:

When I did a “whois” search on their website, I showed that this website was created in January 2015 and was listed as private. This company is not a real company, they are a scam. Below is a voice mail left by their representative, which contains a plethora of legal violations.

What To Do If You Are Contacted By Northwind Associates

If you are contacted by Northwind Associates, or any other debt collector that is harassing or threatening legal action against you, you will want to file complaints with the places below:

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:

http://www.consumerfinance.gov/

Attorney General’s Office (for your state):

WA – http://www.atg.wa.gov/ 

NY – http://www.ag.ny.gov/

Better Business Bureau:

http://www.bbb.org/

I’d also recommend that you get legal advice from a FDCPA Attorney like:

http://marcuslawnj.com/