Debt collection company barred from Colorado

A company that specialized in collecting bad debt from consumers has been ordered to stop operating in Colorado.

The order bars Regent Asset Management Solutions and its chief executive officer, Michael A. Scata, from engaging in debt collection, for which it was not licensed, according to an announcement from state Attorney General John Suthers. In addition, the company must also pay the state $70,000 in civil penalties for violating the Colorado Consumer Protection Act.

The decision is the result of a December 2010 lawsuit that alleged the company collected debts from consumers in the state even after its license to do so expired in July of that year, the report said. Further, Regent also failed to provide consumers with adequate proof that they owed the debts it was trying to collect, often leaving them unable to determine the accuracy of the claims being made against them.

A number of debt collections agencies have been shut down by authorities across the country in recent months as a result of illegal collection methods. This underscores the importance of consumers knowing their rights when it comes to dealing with this type of company.