We are being called constantly on our cell phone and our home phone by a “Ms. Howes” from “Graystone Alliance” or “Graystone Alliance” in regards to collecting a certain alleged debt.
I asked Ms. Howes to contact us only by mail, and she said that required a written request was required for her to stop calling. When I asked for an address to send my request to, she provided me with “2555 Great Arrow Ave., Ste. 15, Buffalo, NY 14207″.
I did a Google Maps search for this address and found that:
1) There is no such street number on Great Arrow Ave.
2) Great Arrow Ave. has a different zip code than she provided.
I also did a Google search using Greystone Alliance and Graystone Alliance and came up with absolutely nothing. No website even.
Then I looked up the number they used to call me on my cell phone. (716) 218-4899. Again, there is no information that comes up.
I will never negotiate to pay legitimate debts, let alone alleged ones, with a company that provides me with a fake address.
BEWARE: Don’t negotiate with someone who gives out a false address for their so-called collection agency!
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This post was submitted by CC.
March 13th, 2009 at 8:14 am
I find it amazing how people who owe debts always think there is fraud being committed when they don’t pay the bills they incur and leave the creditors hanging driving up costs and interest rates for the rest of the consumers, weather it is a retail bill, a medical bill or any other type of loss businesses have to take. The way I found this post is I was looking up Greystone Alliance to find a phone number since a friend of mine who is one of the most trustworthy and ethical individuals you could ask for in the collection industry took over the old Elite Recovery Services. The business is not yet a month old and I am sure phone numbers and websites are soon to come once his I.T. team (computer geeks) get all of his business phases running smoothly. Unfortunately in this horrible recession I can understand many American’s going belly up but the true credit abusers out there are usually the ones who try to get out of paying debts by loopholes making it bad for the rest of us who work hard to pay our bills and keep low interest rates. For the general population who do not understand this industry and think it is bad to ask people to pay money on debts they owe I say you would be surprised at how many “professional” debtors there are in this country who just keep the scam going and hide behind legal loopholes. That being said I am not making excuses for unprofessional collection agencies who use illegal tactics to collect money from unsuspecting hard working Americans who fell into hard times and are trying to catch up. I can leave you with one thought I was in the collection industry for over 13 years in a high capacity for one of the largest companies in the world one you may never have known was in the collection business because you may associate them with light bulbs, appliances and a stock that tanked since the CEO retired about 9 years ago. I can say I do know the new owner of Greystone Alliance and am proud of that fact he is a pillar in the Western New York Community and has created many jobs through his business efforts over the years. I personally am retired so for you out there who think this is a planted post it is not, it is just an opinion of an outsider who once was an insider in the collection industry.
March 14th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
The adress is 255 great arrow ave suite 15 buffalo ny 14207. You must have written down an extra 5. We are not fraud and feel free not to pay your bills. We didn’t write the bible and don’t have to worry about being the one that will judge you at the gate. Your day will come on its own
March 18th, 2009 at 6:34 am
Geez so you claim you were given an address of 2555. Coincidentally the address was 255. Don’t suppose you could of misunderstood or wrote it down wrong right. I mean who really has enough time on their hands to write a post and complain about a company because they were one number off on the address just think.. The time you wasted writing that, you could been out looking for a job to pay back that debt that you owe….I’m so sick of hearing people complain and blaming things on the economy. Don’t you get it….you people who run up the debt then aren’t responsible enough or mature enough to pay it back. Your the reason our economy is crashing. Which is killing the people who do work hard and pay their bills. But instead you debtors just run up bills and then hide behind an atty or a cccs type company. Grow up. If you paid your bills on time and didn’t live out of your means you wouldn’t be dealing with collections at all.
March 20th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
well even when i typed in the 255 great arrow avenue, nothing came up. so whether they were one digit off or not, the address is still non-existent. and for the person who said that the company is waiting to get the stuff up and running, the business end of the business needs to be up and running before trying to get to people and wanting them to trust that what you are saying is correct. it is true, we are all struggling through this economy which is why people are also more skeptical about throwing money at people without question. if they want people to believe them, they have current information, they need to start sending documentation to the people in debt. a paper trail is the best way to track communication with a client who has a debt. otherwise, especially in this economy, people are going to be unwilling to throw away their money without valid proof of the legitimacy of the company. these posts above are cute, but can’t prove that the company is legit. until that happens, people will keep their personal information to themselves, as they should. who wants to lose hard earned money in this economy to someone who is scheming and pretending to be a debt collector?
April 1st, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Something seems odd to me about this company too. I got a voicemail from a gentleman named “Mr. Shag” saying he was from this “Greystone Alliance” and he needed to speak to me immediately. Then he stumbled through the call back info, giving the wrong number 3 times before he got it right. So I decided to do a little research and found this. You’re right, address doesn’t come up & absolutely no websites for such a company. Sounds fishy to me.
April 2nd, 2009 at 8:16 am
http://www.greystonealliance.net
April 2nd, 2009 at 1:26 pm
This person, also from a Ms. Howes, called my parents home, and when I called ,she let me know of a debt that I do not have! When I asked why I hadn’t received any documentation about this debt, she told me that she HAD sent it. Then I asked her where she had sent it (after some discussion) she quoted some address in Brooklyn, NY. I have NEVER EVER lived in NY! NOT ever, and there is NO way I or any of my bills would be associated with New York. This, coupled with the fact that she just wanted me to make arrangement with her for money, no questions asked, let me know that something was up! You’ve been warned!
April 13th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
I also don’t trust these people. I was on the phone with a receptionist, who them morphed into a high pressure salesman/debator over ethics, who then turned to fear tactics. He gave me some arbitrary date to pay some debt to a bank that I am already making payments too. Yet, he said that he owned the account now. Funny how my bank is accepting my payments; but, they have empowered him to collect in their behalf. I didn’t mention that to him, just let him yell himself into the ground. Wow, that’s professional. I hung up when he was still red faced, literally yelling into the phone. He must be frustrated by the many people who don’t trust him. Keep up the good work people. I am going to my bank today to ask about Greystone Alliance.
Obviuosly he’s the guy behind the organization, and probably the guy behind the few positive blogs.
April 14th, 2009 at 9:30 am
It’s always good to err on the side of caution. I did take some more time to reserch Greystone Alliance and it turns out that they are real, just a month old; but, they are a real collections company.
After contacting the bank that I owe I discovered that my account was sold to Hudson and Keys, who then sold it to Franklin Asset Management. I spoke to Franklin Asset Management and they did assure me that Greystone Alliance is a small sub-contractor who they sold the account to for collections.
Turns out I was wrong about them. They do have some agressive tactics, they have called my wife on her cell phone and my Dad. But, they are the people that I need to pay.
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:07 pm
greystone alliance called my 78 yearold grandfather about acredit card that i opened up about 2 yrs ago. Just because we have the same name and i was living with him at the time it was opened they assumed it was him It was not him it was me , they tried to say i commited fraud by opening it under his name but i did not due to the fact that we have the same name and the same middle intial. I asked them what ssn number they had and they listed off my ssn number first and then 3 other ones. I asked hi what one was used to open the at and it was mine so i then asked him how does it go on my grandfathers credit report then if my ssn was used. he tried to tell me that when a credit card is opened up the comouter goes by the name and the address and if there are more then one person with the same name at the address then it goes t othe first one on act not by the ssn nuber that u enetered on the appliation I think that is wrong then what is the point of enetering your ssn if it can go onto somebody elses credit. I set up a payment plan with them as the debt was mine a agrred to it , i made the first payent as agreed to and then when it was time to make the seond payment i had car issiues and had to get the car fixed i called graystone alliance asking them if I could push the payment back 2 weeks untill i got paid , i even offered to pay 25 dollars more than i owed they said no as the paynet agreeent was broken and that i would now hae to pay the full aount instead of the settlement amount plus attorney fees , in my opinion they refused a payent from me and would not work with me therefore they really dont want this paid off anytie soon I am planning on fighting this
May 20th, 2009 at 4:28 pm
I also rec’d a letter and decided to inquire about this company since I do NOT owe anybody this amount. I find it funny that somebody stumbles across this website just trying to find a number of a so-called friend! There are lots of scam artists in this world, and also vulnerable people who might just pay this because they are freaked out with the letter. I am not one of them and intend to get to the bottom of this – I really wish these crooks would get a real job! And Mr. Previous Bill collector….get a life!
May 23rd, 2009 at 5:31 am
Dee, when was the last time you checked your credit report? I’m sure this debt is on there. The accounts receivable industry is a highly regulated industry and I highly doubt that some company is firing out bogus letters on debts that people don’t owe. Also, when you received the letter, you will probably notice that it states, by FDCPA law, that you have 30 days to dispute the debt in writing. Perhaps the amount owed is not recognizable because of added interest charges (read the contract that you signed). Educate yourself before you begin your scam accusations.
May 27th, 2009 at 9:54 am
Ok so Greystone Alliance is a legit company. However, we all make mistakes in the past, circumstances you cannot control. I am at a point in my life where if I owe i paid it off this year or have made arragements to pay. Greystone however, refused to compromise. I asked Mr. David Bouty to provide me with proof of the collection bill and he said he sent me a statement. He said it was for a Capital One credit card I owe and was making payments from 2001-2002 and even gave me my social. First of all I have never had a Capital One credit card. #2 during that time he claims I was making payments I was unemployed #3 if it is my bill then show me proof and lets talk. I told him if it’s my debt I’d like to pay it off by making payment arrangements and if I can pay 25-30 bucks a month. He said NO the minimum was 100 bucks a month. I am literally living PAY CHECK to PAY CHECK. I’m not asking for your sympathy I’m asking for your understanding and the fact that if it is my bill I am willing to pay something a month according to my means. By the way he said it was on my credit report. well guess what I pulled my credit report and it was not on there NOT under Greystone or the company he states they purchased the debt from.
June 6th, 2009 at 9:26 am
im one of those low lifes that get out of paying debt that i alone ran up and to the old gezzer i mean muture old guy that doesnt like the fact 80% of americans use the law to escape their debt maybe you should go to another country well perfect lil people like your self live perfect lil lifes where nothing goes wrong in your perfect lil world
tell all the people on unemployment who have paid there bills on time for yrs and now losing there homes that they are the reason the country is in a mess no dumb a.. the reason is cause of the banks and credit cards people charging 29% interest and big banks crushing smaller banks and the crying for help
hey you hard working folks dont be fooled by this cracker head
he could be a debt collector for if there were not low lifes like me who use the law and do settlements to get out of thousands of dollars of debt debt collectors would not have a job and further more people work in the debt collection agencies cause there too dumb to use the brain and thats all they can do
at least a truck driver needs some kind of skill what skill is involved in picking up the phone and using a computer hell monkeys can do that lol
im a low life that dont pay my bills and mighty proud of it
and that my friends is the american dream
btw the federal government do pay there debts either hehe
June 11th, 2009 at 6:36 am
Received a call 716-218-4890 (Greystone Allia).Number is from Randolph ,NY.Said they were looking for a person that doesn’t live here.
June 22nd, 2009 at 2:25 pm
We are also being called by Greystone Alliance (716)-218-4880. They start calling at 8:01 in the morning and stop around 9pm. They never leave a message and when we are home, they very rudely demand that WE produce a Donna Wilson that supossedly lives in my house. We have told them repeatedly that NO SUCH PERSON lives here nor do we know her. We have owned this house and phone number for eight years. We have the same problem with the postal service sending mail in her name to this address. The mail lady even knows this person has never lived here, shes been delivering this route for 17 years. I don’t know how these people got our phone number, probably cross matched with the address this Donna person used. They will not listen and are using very abusive tactics and profane language. THAT IS ILLEGAL DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES, and we are now retaining a Lawyer. people like this need to be tought a lesson.
June 22nd, 2009 at 3:20 pm
All I can say to fed up is
SHUT THE FUCK UP ASSHOLE!!
June 25th, 2009 at 10:28 am
The number we get associated with Greystone does not match website. And this Joseph Palone person never says who is he calling for, just rambles off an 800 number-1-877-620-2593×2022. If using a calling center, they should just say so and from which outsourced country. That is the American way! We never got a postal letter from said company either. Scam artist could easily set up a fake site too . G.A. are not the only ones hiding behind 800’s.
June 25th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
ok, Lets set the record straight based on the lawful practices of debt and collection therein.
1, if you borrow money, you are to pay that money back.
2, that debt is owed to THE ORIGINAL DEBTOR, not a collection agency
3, repeated contact 9 more than 3 times per day) Violates federal Law.
4, any collection agency that threatens, uses vulgar or profane language is in violation of law
5, not providing VERIFIABLE information of company name, address, phone number and their actual name is Violation of Federal Law.
6, ANY threat, whether direct, implied or PERCEIVED is not only violation of federal debt collection laws, but is also covered under the Patriot act as domestic terrorism.
So in short, should you receive a call from any debt collection agency that is not a branch of the lender you have the debt with. inform them that you owe a debt to the original debtor, not them. Inform them that should they continue to harrass you, you will proceed with legal actions.
Should they continue to call you, follow up with legal action against them.
July 9th, 2009 at 5:46 am
I have paid off card debt in high interest rates of the last 20 years. No matter how much / how long I pay I still owe because of high interest rates that tack on intrest / penalty and the like. Evan after completing a pay back programs after a year of steady, on time, payments some companies would not negotiate a new plan. I had my car repo’ed after I made an on time payment because the company reps did not check their computers to see that a payment had been made!!!!!!!! I had ONE REMAINING PAYMENT… I am so glad that O’bama is doing something about intrest rates and putting these crooks back in their place.
July 10th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
I returned from Ohio after my attending my mothers funeral and settling her estate. I was gone about three weeks. On my caller id were numerous telephone calls from Greystone Alliance. I had never heard of them, so I called them to find out why they had called so many times. When they told me I owed over $1000 for a credit card, I told them that I needed verification of that debt since I had paid all credit cards and my car off over a year ago. He transferred me to a James Smouse who said he was a manager. I told him that I did not believe I owed this debt and wanted verification since all of my debt except my house had been paid in full. I also ask him why I had not received any notification of this debt via mail, and why they continually called, up to seven times per day, without giving me time to return the call. He told me that they could call as many times as they wanted between 8am-9pm. I told him that they had also called my work cell phone and I did not appreciate this, since any minutes I used talking to them would be charged against my company’s plan, not my personal funds.
James Smouse became very defensive and told me that they would continue to call me as often as they wanted, but they were only allowed to leave one message per day. He told me that he would report that I was refusing to pay the debt in his records. I told him that I was not refusing to pay the debt if it was mine, but I wanted verification of the debt he said I owed and I did not want to receive up to seven telephone calls per day until they provided me with this information. He continued to tell me that I was refusing to pay the debt and I kept telling him that I was asking for verification. He ask me to verify my social security number which I refused to do because I have no idea who he, or his company are. When he became ruder, I told him that I would write a letter demanding that they cease telephone calls and only communicate with me in writing.
When I got home from work today, there were three telephone calls on my caller ID from Greystone Alliance, even though I had just talked to James Smouse, a manager yesterday. I called them back and again got James Smouse. I reminded him that I had talked to him yesterday and requested verification of this debt he said I owed. I told him that I informed him yesterday and mailed a letter today asking that they stop communication by telephone with me. He said that he was again going to note that I refused to pay this debt in his records. I again told him that I did not refuse to pay the debt, I wanted verification of the debt. After he repeated that I was refusing to pay the debt several times, and I did not agree, he called me childish and immature. He said that I should allow him to talk and stop interupting him. I told him that I would interupt and correct him when he was wrong, and he was wrong in stating that I was refusing to pay the debt because I ask him for verification of the debt. He told me that I was talking to him like a child and he was not a child.
I hung up on him and immediately called the FCC and filed a complaint. Tomorrow I will call the Attorney General in Florida and file another complaint. I am installing a recording device on my telephone to record my future conversations with James Smouse and take them to an attorney if this company continues to harass me without providing me verification of a debt they want me to pay to them. I will not allow this company, or any other for that matter, to harass me to pay them for a debt I do not believe I owe. I worked very hard to pay off all of my credit cards and my car. I will not be harassed into paying something that I dont believe I owe.
For those of you who believe that your collection companies and creditors are not capable of making mistakes in your reporting, GET OVER IT !! I continually check my credit report and know that mistakes are made. I have had my ex’s debts come up on my credit report. I have had my mother in laws debts come up on my credit report because we have the same first and last names. When you do your searches for people over the internet, through telephone directories, YOU DONT ALWAYS GET THE RIGHT PERSON, you may just get someone with the same name, or a relative.
July 21st, 2009 at 5:55 pm
I have been hounded by Graystone for an MCI phone bill which they claim I owe. They said that it was for my phone service from 2005, which is not true because I have had Verizon since day one. I can say that I did check into MCI service, but never switched. This company tells me that they are collecting FOR MCI. I asked them to send me copies of the “original” order from MCI for this service and they told me that they would send me a statement. I told them their statement was not good enough and insisted on the original documents from MCI. Three weeks later I still have not received them. I called MCI myself and they advised me that I NEVER had phone service with them. They searched their records by my name and SS #….and came up with nothing. Since Graystone has this on my credit report, the representative from MCI gave me the phone numbers for the 3 major credit reporting agencies and dispute these charges. It will all fall back into MCI’s lap who will tell them that I owe nothing and never did. So BEWARE of Graystone.
July 23rd, 2009 at 3:11 pm
I have been having issues with this company as well. I have worked in collections and am well aware of the laws surrounding it. first the debt collector did not state what collections companies refer to as the collections miranda warning, that this is an attempt to collect a debt and any information collected can be used for that purpose. second the collections rep only just verified my name. without verifying any more information, how does she know she was speaking with the correct person? i informed the rep that i did not have the money to pay at this time. she started going on about how i am in breach of contract and blah blah blah. i then informed the rep to not call this phone number again as it was a relatives and i just happened to be over at the time. she told me that i dont tell her what to do. i responded that i have worked in collections and when a number is requested to not be called again they cannot call it. then the rep told me that i was just as rude as my mother was. i find this quite interesting as it is not possible for her to have spoken with my mother… so who she was talking to about my debt who knows… i told her that she cannot talk to me like that. she continued to scream incoherently and i hung up the phone. i called the number back, and conveniently, it went to voice mail. i left a message stating what i had told the rep and they were in violation of my rights and i would be filing a complaint with the attorney general. i have not heard from them since. my relative has not received any calls from them and i still havent received anything from them in the mail either.
July 23rd, 2009 at 8:45 pm
PO’d in Florida, verification of debt must be requested IN WRITING ONLY, within 30 days of notification, per FDCPA law.
July 24th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Greystone Alliance is a great comapny, Been in business for 4 months most of the old guard comes from Elite Recovery. They are very ethical and abide by the FDCPA and are monitored daily by their clients and internal compliance department.
Bad press is good publicity for anyone apparently Greystone is doing a good job. Keep the messages coming please.
August 4th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
This company has called me twice (on my fairly new phone #) both times saying the wrong first name (instead using a first name similar to mine). They even referenced a case #.
I watch my bills closely, have 1 credit card I pay off every month, and just bought a house within the past 6 months and was cleared with a stellar credit rating. I find these calls very suspicious, especially since they are telling me I am required to call them right away at a regular (non toll free) number.
Any thoughts?
August 4th, 2009 at 7:25 pm
to clarify my above post, I owe no one for anything, other than my car & mortgage which are paid ahead of scheudle. This is why I feel these cause are suspicious.
August 25th, 2009 at 6:02 am
no doubt this company is fraudulent. no REAL company would still have a simple website that was “under construction” to this day. seriously? i have a surprise for them.
September 1st, 2009 at 5:54 am
Hey Chuck,
Theres a valid phone number on their website. How can they be fraudulent? Do you have some real proof? Many companies don’t even have a website.
September 28th, 2009 at 8:25 pm
In case you all haven’t noticed….evidentally “Fed up”, Gery and Mr. Raiders are employees of Graystone.
Well you made a wrong move with what you did to me and I have a nice payback surprise for Brian of Graystone. Your deceptive tactics of calling one of family members was recorded. Enough proof for the Attorney General to hang you as well as the FCDPA. Good luck.
September 30th, 2009 at 8:44 am
People. THIS IS A SCAM. Use your common sense. I absolutely hate that people are being scammed by this, especially the elderly. NO, YOU DO NOT OWE THEM MONEY. I don’t care if you have bought something you owe money on, THIS COMPANY IS NOT LEGIT. Don’t answer the call. Don’t listen to some of these others that have posted. If you owe money on something, you will be sent letters in the mail *several times*. Don’t do ANYTHING over the phone, unless YOU call a specific company that you work with. If it seems illegitimate, IT IS. Warn others. If you don’t recognize a phone number, don’t answer it. Listen carefully if a message is left. All calls from this number and several others have never left me a message. If you feel the need to talk to these people, record it for the police. Go ahead and tell them you are doing so. But better yet, don’t give them the time of day. PLEASE DO NOT BE FOOLED.
October 8th, 2009 at 7:23 am
Laura,
You’re a fool. Plain and simple. People, check your credit reports and you will see that these debts exist.
October 8th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
They’ve been calling me recently about a debt I PAID several years ago.
October 14th, 2009 at 11:25 am
I recently received a call from these scam artists who also look at websites such as these and claim that there company is legit by posting and defending these companies. Paul, Mr Raiders, and Gery are all scam artists/domestic terrorists who WILL be dealt with accordingly.
October 14th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Sorry, not Paul, Fred O