Complaints
This profile includes complaints for Phillips & Cohen Associates, Ltd.'s headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see
Customer Complaints Summary
- 28 total complaints in the last 3 years.
- 7 complaints closed in the last 12 months.
If you've experienced an issue
Submit a ComplaintThe complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.
Initial Complaint
Date:05/15/2024
Type:Status:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
I received a bill owed by my deceased, estranged brother. I was notified about this bill OVER SEVEN MONTHS beyond his date of death. I have let this company know multiple times that I have no issue whatsoever paying every penny my brother owed at the time of his death, in fact it would have been paid in full long ago. However, I have a HUGE ISSUE with the nearly $500 in late fees and interest charges they want to collect for the time it took THEM to get in touch with me! They have also been notified that they are to communicate with me via the USPS only, an yet my phone continues to ring. Even worse, the phone # first logged as Phillips and Cohen, then the same # logged as UNKNOWN in my missed call list. My phone does not ring for numbers not in my contact list, so this attempted deception will not succeed in getting the phone answered. All I am asking is that they remove the late fees and interest charges for THEIR DELAY in contacting me, once I receive a FAIR bill, it will be paid in full.
Business Response
Date: 05/27/2024
Response to complaintCustomer Answer
Date: 06/05/2024
Better Business Bureau:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to my complaint and have determined that this does not resolve my issue. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
**In order for the bureau to continue to assist you, you MUST provide your view on the matter or your complaint will be closed as answered.I received your communication from Phillips and Cohen regarding this complain, however they never actually answered my complaint in any way that explains what they have done. I am NOT sure what they mean by "PCA has suspended this account, notified the client of this complaint, and will not call Ms. Niemczura as requested." I have received the documents they mentioned sending, nothing though has addressed my concerns. I don't want this closed by BBB until the issue has actually been resolved. Their response did NOT address my complaint.Thank you for your assistance in this matter!
Regards,
Complaint ID: 21716169
Business Response
Date: 06/17/2024
Response to RejectionInitial Complaint
Date:09/26/2023
Type:Status:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
I was contacted by this company seven days ago. They refused to give me their name.
Because they didn’t validate the alleged debt within the legal timeframe then they are to cease and desist all communications with me and they are not to direct 3rd parties to contact me
My only income is permanent Social Security and there is nearly a $700,000 personal lien on my name hence communicating with me about it alleged it is moot.PCA Acquisition contact me seven days ago but they didn’t validate the alleged debt as required by law. Because of this PCA acquisitions and their affiliates or associates are not to contact me nor are they to direct others to contact me. My only income is permanent SSD and there’s nearly a $700,000 federal judgment on my name which can be seen in the county court records. Hence contacting me is moot. Thank you
Business Response
Date: 09/28/2023
Response to ComplaintCustomer Answer
Date: 10/25/2023
Better Business Bureau:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to my complaint and have determined that this does not resolve my issue. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
**In order for the bureau to continue to assist you, you MUST provide your view on the matter or your complaint will be closed as answered.
Dear BBBThis is regarding my complaint against PCA. I did receive the response but the system did not allow me to respond.I will send my response per email. First I will include a timeline of events.On or about September 26, 2023, PCA received my cease and desist request.They have never validated the alleged debt and in fact on September 26, 2023 denied knowledge of the alleged debt despite calls and text messages from them.On or about October 14, 2023 after the cease-and-desist letter, PCA continued to call, send a text message and mailed me two letters requesting payment. On this day they violated my cease and desist request four times. The above represents a violation of the law four times. Additionally they attempted to collect alleged debt that they failed to ever validate or verify. They have never validated the debt however the law provides a five day timeframe for them to validate the debt. They have chosen to never validate the debt and they have chosen to ignore my cease-and-desist request.I I will again advise Philip and Cohen or their affiliates or associates to not contact me are those related to me for any reason. Philip and Cohen is not to discuss me or the alleged debt with third parties.Thank you very much.
Regards,
Complaint ID: 20656310
Business Response
Date: 12/19/2023
Response to RebuttalInitial Complaint
Date:04/17/2023
Type:Status:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
I received a letter from Phillips & Cohen to my home address addressed to the Estate of my deceased mother ********** ******. I was provided a Reference number and Pin number, and the lettter stated that they "are seeking to locate the Executor . . . authorized to pay the outstanding bills (of my very recently deceased mother)." When I logged into the website provided (www.Estate-Serve.com) and entered the aforementioned Reference number and Pin number, I received the following message: "Security Error: Your Account is not active." When I called this company, they refused to provide any information at all about an alleged debt and tried to procure personal information from me, which I refused. They initially would not even confirm my mother's name when I gave the Reference number THEY provided. This business is alleging that the Estate has "outstanding bills" without any specificity whatsoever. I am unaware of any outstanding debts for this Estate and if this company is legitimately attempting to collect something that is past due, they should provide that information. Otherwise, it is harassment and phishing.Business Response
Date: 04/27/2023
Response to complaintCustomer Answer
Date: 05/02/2023
Better Business Bureau:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to my complaint and have determined that this does not resolve my issue. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
**In order for the bureau to continue to assist you, you MUST provide your view on the matter or your complaint will be closed as a
Regards,
Complaint ID: 19947042
I personally contacted the Costco credit card company following my mother's 3/21/23 death and advised them of her passing and my status as Executor. I then followed up with an email to "[email protected]" again advising of my mother's death and providing her name, crediit card number and request for Costco Rewards to be sent to her Estate. I also mailed them a letter (attached) with my information and a copy of my mother's death certificate on April 24, as requested. It is disingenious for this company to allege this was a "locate letter." Further, as they concede, my mother's bill was paid in a timely fashion so there was absolutely no reason to forward a letter stating that there were "outstanding bills." Moreover, the letter sent to me makes absolutely no mention of Costco or Citi.
Business Response
Date: 05/11/2023
Response to rejectionInitial Complaint
Date:12/06/2022
Type:Status:AnsweredMore info
Complaint statuses
- Resolved:
- The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
- Unresolved:
- The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
- Answered:
- The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
- Unanswered:
- The business failed to respond to the dispute.
- Unpursuable:
- BBB is unable to locate the business.
I was contacted by this debt collector regarding an alleged past due credit card bill that I owe. I sent them a debt verification letter requesting very specific documents related to the debt, but all they want to send back are some shady looking past due credit card statements. According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act if I request related to the debt they have to give me the requested documents or forgive the debt. This company is failing to comply with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and if they can't or refuse to provide me with the information that I requested, they shouldn't be allowed to collect on a debt if they can't prove that I own it.Business Response
Date: 12/12/2022
Response to complaintCustomer Answer
Date: 12/17/2022
Better Business Bureau:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to my complaint and have determined that this does not resolve my issue. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
**In order for the bureau to continue to assist you, you MUST provide your view on the matter or your complaint will be closed as answered.
Phillips Cohen interpretation of The Fair Debt CollectionPractices Act, 15 USC 1692g is incorrect. I spoke to several lawyers that have told me that same thing. I am just asking for more verification than they usually have to give, and they don't have the required information to be able to collect on a debt that I don't believe is mine.
Regards,
Complaint ID: 18534490
Business Response
Date: 01/06/2023
Response to consumer follow up on response of 12/12/22
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