Consumer Collection Advocate and All Others Alike
DeniseM, sorry about the lack of paragraphs. TheTimeTraveler, you’re right. I was a fool for believing in their lies and paying, yet again, another upfront fee for “promised services”. It doesn’t make me gullible but trusting. What Consumer Collection Advocates made me realize is I’m tired of falling prey to felons and crooks like Michael Ettus. This time I’m fighting back.
When I lost money to CTI Group I thought it would take thousands to hire an attorney to fight for my money. Thousands I no longer had. Funny thing is my attorney is charging me a Contingency Fee, a percentage of the money I am expected to receive. Right now I’m only paying a small percentage of the expected court cost and expenses. This is less than what Consumer Collection Advocates charged me for their fraudulent services, mainly because I am seeking to sue these companies. Who knew? The fear of exorbitant attorney fees is the main reason so many of us decide to “cut our losses” rather than fighting back.
I’m embarrassed to add that in 2011 I had paid a company by the name of Fee Recovery Specialist to recover fees I paid to timeshare Resale Companies. They never recovered monies for me, ignored my refund request and stopped answering my calls. At the time I was investing in future trades and commodities so I shifted all my focus there. I didn’t take my fight any further.
What I don’t understand is how does The Florida Office of Financial Regulation allow someone like Michael Ettus to get an approved status for licenses to operate a “Collection Agency” with his felony record? Furthermore according to
www.flofr.com Florida Office of Financial Regulation a consumer collection agency licenses authorizes the holder to collect or attempt to collect consumer debts, asserted to be owed or due to another person, including third party collectors (assignee) of debts made by individual consumers. According to The 2012 Florida Statutes PART VI CONSUMER COLLECTION PRACTICES 559.55 (6), it defines a “Debt Collector” as any person who uses any instrumentality of commerce within this state, whether initiated from within or outside this state, in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another. The term “debt collector” includes any creditor who, in the process of collecting her or his own debts, uses any name other than her or his own which would indicate that a third person is collecting or attempting to collect such debts. Where does timeshare recovery fit in this definition? Timeshare recovery is not a service of collecting debts but a service of filing claims and disputes. The money that timeshare owners were defrauded out of is not money owed to them therefore it is not a “debt”. It is money they’re attempting to get back because they’ve paid for services not rendered. Those timeshare resale crooks knew exactly what they were doing and their contracts exemplified their intent by never stating “you will receive a refund if we do not find a buyer or sell your timeshare”. This is why so many of us failed to take our own action when we had finally realized that we were scammed. We knew that we had made a bad decision by giving our card information to these crooks to charge us an “upfront fee” for their services.
Well enough is enough. I’ve been preyed upon, made a fool of and practically robbed by the same type of crook but with a different name and location. I’m tired of these scam artists preying on the elderly and venture capitalists just to leave us with egg on our faces and no money in our pockets. I’m fighting back!
Consumer Collection Advocates in located at 1001 W. Cypress Creek Road, Suite 204, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309. If you have fallen victim to this company and/or its owner Michael Ettus you can contact Florida Office of the Attorney General @ 1.866.966.7226. They will tell you what you need to do in order for you to get your money back from this company. You can also contact the Office of the Attorney General in the state you live in. You can also contact Fort Lauderdale Police Department at 954.828.5700 to file a police report. If this company and/ or its owner have defrauded you out of thousands then contact an attorney, you’ll be surprised by the different methods attorneys may charge you to help make their fees affordable.
I’ve Goggled Consumer Collection Advocates and the owner Michael (Mike) Ettus and I’ve seen refutes and denials of claims against him or his company. That's how I got to this site. Please do not be fooled by post defending or refuting claims this information is all public knowledge. For proof please visit
www.clerk-17th-flcourts.org and type in Michael Ettus name for his felon record. Also visit
www.flofr.com to search the type of license this company holds and the information and definition of a consumer collection agency. To read The Florida Statutes PART VI CONSUMER COLLECTION PRACTICES 559.55 (6), visit
www.leg.state.fl.us If you would like to find out about complaints on this company do not rely on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating. I was told not to trust the BBB rating because their rating is based on competency licensing, government actions and complaints filed with BBB. Many consumers do not file their complaints with BBB. If you would like to find out about complaints filed on this company contact Florida Dept of Agriculture & Consumer Services at (800) 435-7352. Finally Google Consumer Collection Advocates or Michael (Mike) Ettus to view complaints on other sites. If you were victimized join me and stop being a victim. With growing complaints government action will soon follow and we could put an end to being preyed upon by these crooks.
Good luck & God bless
