Information and Alerts

Ad Review

BBB promotes truth in advertising by contacting advertisers whose claims conflict with the BBB Code of Advertising. These claims may come to our attention from our internal review of advertising, consumer complaints and competitor challenges. BBB asks advertisers to prove their claims, change ads to make offers more clear to consumers, and remove misleading or deceptive statements.

On 11/2/2022, BBB contacted BlackRock Legal Group again regarding their mailers for collecting debt that stated:

• "Civil Lawsuit Notification"
• "Additional Activity: NSF Fraud"
• "Notification of Lawsuit & Civil Complaint"
• Every letter claims "CAUSE OF ACTION TWO (2): Because you obtained this loan and immediately closed or changed your bank account, and because your check (ACH payment) was returned unpaid by your bank due to non-sufficient funds (NSF) for an amount greater than $100.00, we have noted your case with fraudulent activity and with a malicious intent to commit fraud."
• "CC: U.S. District Court
Transunion credit bureau
• There is also a "FILED" stamp on the letter that makes it look like this case was filed in court
• There is a due date on the letters but consumers does not have ample time to review and/or make payment

The BBB asked the business to explain if the lawsuit has been filed already prior to the letter being sent, whether all consumers receiving this letter been found of fraud as indicated in paragraph 3 of the letter, and to modify these mailers to meet Section 1 of the BBB Code of Advertising, which states in part:

1. Basic Principles of the Code
1.1 The primary responsibility for truthful and non-deceptive advertising rests with the advertiser. Advertisers should be prepared to substantiate any objective claims or offers made before publication or broadcast. Upon request, they should present such substantiation promptly to the advertising medium or BBB.
1.2 Advertisements which are untrue, misleading, deceptive, fraudulent, falsely disparaging of competitors, or insincere offers to sell, shall not be used.
1.3 An advertisement as a whole may be misleading by implication, although every sentence separately considered may be literally true.
1.4 Misrepresentation may result not only from direct statements, but by omitting or obscuring a material fact.

On 7/5/2022, BlackRock Legal Group informed the BBB that they have ceased sending out these mailers. However, all complaints received by the BBB since then mentions the same letter with the exact same verbiage as the letter the BBB previously challenged on 6/27/2022.

As of 12/7/2022, the BBB has not received a response from the business substantiating the claims made on the mailers or what they plan to do about the mailers for the future.

Pattern of Complaints

BBB files indicate that this business has a pattern of complaints concerning letters being sent to consumers collecting debt. On 6/27/2022, BBB submitted a written request to the company encouraging them to address the pattern of complaints. As of 7/5/2022, BBB has received a sufficient response from the business who is actively working on the pattern below with the action included.

• Complaints allege that consumers have received a letter attempting to collect on a debt that is 5+ years old and may have been paid in full

Effective 7/5/2022, the business informed the BBB that they are discontinuing the mailing of the ”final notice’ notification letter that is the source of these particular complaints.   Any future contact to that particular class of debtors will be limited to phone calls and whatever collection action is warranted.  

As of 11/2/2022, the BBB has received more complaints in which consumers allege they have received a mailer trying to collect on a debt that were old and/or paid off in full. the mailer also threatens legal action if the debt is not paid off within the next couple of days. Consumers are also alleging that they receive threatening text messages to pay off the debt within the next 4-5 days to avoid the lawsuit.

Based on the complaints received since the BBB initially contacted BlackRock Legal Group, the pattern of complaints have not been alleviated. 

Alert

In June 2022, BBB investigated BlackRock Legal Group's business practices. This investigation was prompted by complaints alleging that consumers have received a letter attempting to collect on a debt that is 5+ years old and may have already been paid in full. The business responded to the BBB regarding the letters and informed the BBB that they have ceased sending them to consumers. The business also informed the BBB that they are a debt buyer and that they currently own the accounts of these consumers. The business has not provided information to other requests that would assist the BBB in having a better understanding of the company.

Based on the information detailed above, BBB cannot state with confidence that we have a clear understanding of the business.