Originally posted by desert
My son received a call last week from a "debt collection agency", regarding a credit card debt he knew had been paid off two years ago. They seemed
to have all the correct info on the debt, and were not heavy handed but rather gently very persuasive. They kept calling, worrying him that maybe
something had happened and that the debt hadn't gotten paid or recorded as paid somehow.
They said he needed to send them a payment now, and they would pay the cc company. He checked with the cc company--no debt. He then went online and
found out that this company had a website. He called their number and told them he had no debt and to quit calling. They did.
With all the financial stress many people are under these days, these con artists are preying on the vulnerable. This time a young person, but the
next victim could be a parent or grandparent.
Sorry, I don't have the name of the company. I know this one was in California. I'll bet, though, that more of this type of scam will appear. If you
suspect a scam, search online to see if there is a number to call them. My son also found online a list of complaints against this company.
We may be losing jobs and money these days, but we shouldn't be losing sleep over cons like this. Heads up.
Lets clear up a few things.
1. Your debt is sold to these collectors often for pennies on the dollar, they then charge you full price, for something they paid pennies on the
dollar for. Thats not too fair.
2. Collectors often will use heavy language and make it sound like your life will be over if you don't pay them.
3. Never talk to these collectors on the phone, ask them to correspond ONLY in writing, they MUST comply with this request, the Business Practices Act
spells this out, and they MUST comply.
Now, what can you do when you have a collector sending you letters? This is the point where you ask them for the ORIGINAL contract signed by you and
the original company in which they CLAIM you owe.
Most often this alone is enough to stop the bombardment as in most cases these debts are created out of thin air, if you have been a deliquent on your
cell phone bill this trick isnt going to work cause you did sign a contract and your hooped.
Second, is that you require the collection agency to send you a PROPER bill, as per the Bill of Exchange Act, which is SIGNED by an authorized
representative.
Anyone who has ever received a collection letter will notice they send you a notice that says you owe $XXX.XX but its not signed.
THEY ARE BREAKING THE UCC AT THIS POINT AND YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO PAY THEM! IGNORANCE IS THE ONLY REASON EVERYONE DOES!
The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)(3) Requires an order to pay be signed.
Additionally, U.C.C. 3-501(3) Without dishonoring the instrument, the party to whom presentment is made may return the instrument for lack of
necessary endorsement.
So you can simple ask them to send you a PROPER BILL (order to pay) with a PROPER endorsement.
You send them notice of that via REGISTERED MAIL, give them 2 weeks to respond. If they do not respond tell them to stop corresponding with you
permanently after that. Additionally, in your final letter state that ANY attempts by them to access your credit bureau or anything they file against
your credit bureau MUST be removed. You can even take them to court for this because if they ruin your credit and cannot LEGALLY provide you with the
proper documentation AFTER YOU REQUESTED then they are acting illegally.
I have used this method to have multiple accounts ZEROED and canceled with collection agencies. They simply cannot come up with the paperwork. And for
everyone one person that uses this method to defeat them, they have 10000 that pay it without hesitation. Trust me, just like police they pray on the
weak and ignorant.
[edit on 4-3-2009 by king9072]