No history dealing from collection agency?

Question

Hello, i am just looking for some advise. about 4 weeks ago my parents recived a phone call at 730am from some one asking for my wife but in her maden name. my parents ask what the call was about and this gentle man claimed he is with the irs and it is about a 1099 form. My parents then called me right away and told me to call this guy. So i did first thing he ask was a ssn#, i did not have it. then i gave him a case #. Then he came back and said that your wife owes us 2900 now for a 5 year old capital one card, or else we are going to sue you for 5500. I told him i have no idea with this is about and i will have to contact her. He told me i have to pay him now or else. I was thinking he was a con. I did ask my wife and she said that had a capital one card, she did 5 years ago when she lived in Texas now we live in MN. We did get a letter from an attorneys office one week later. Thx tim

Answer 1

First, collectors are not allowed to call before 8:00 am. Next, they are not allowed to discuss the matter with anyone except the debtor (or their spouse in some states).

The IRS does not make collection calls for other companies. The person who called your parents first said they were with the IRS and then said that they were collecting for an old credit card, so they obviously are not legitimate. And, no legitimate company makes a demand for one amount and then threatens to sue you for double the amount if you don't pay them NOW. Finally, in some states, collectors cannot make any threats regarding legal action, even if the collector is a lawyer.

If the letter you got from the attorney seems to be from the same person/group that you spoke with on the phone, you should contact your own legal counsel. Collectors are not allowed to misrepresent who they are and what they are calling for. You also have grounds for harassment because they called before 8:00 am and they spoke to your parents about your wife's personal business.

Answer 2

Be very careful of what you say to a collection person. I always have my client to request any question in writing. I don't know which state that you would fall under but now it seems you are covered by the statute of limitation in most cases. Ask to see PROOF of the debt before you go any further. Proof = actual source documents not a letter from the collection agency. Also ask the collection company to provide proof of ownership of the debt. Under the Federal Fair Debt Collection Act only the OWNER of the debt can contact you concerning the debt, in most cases the collection is only servicing the debt. This can be simple or complicated you might want to contact a local attorney or prepaid legal.

PS
Also send them a certified letter asking them to only contact you in writing and never at work. If they receive this letter and do otherwise, take them to small court and sue them for $1000 for each violation under federal law.

financialcontrolgroup.com

Answer 3

Have her call capital one directly and reference her old card number, to check the activity on her card. Might be identity fraud?! Do this immediately.

Also have her get her credit report from 1 of the 3 credit agencies (Transunion, Experion, I can't remember the 3rd one) to see what's been going on. Might be more evidence of identity theft.

NEVER give your social and/or birthdate to someone over the phone, could be a hoax.

Maybe she carried a balance and didn't tell you....but you'd have to ask her to find out.

Collection agencies will usually try to work out a payment plan first before threatening to sue. This whole thing sounds fishy to me - wouldn't the credit card company have contacted her by phone and/or mail to let her know that her balance was past due?

Don't do anything until you have her call Capital One, and have her pull her credit report.

Answer 4

Warning!! Do not give these people ANY information about yourself. This guy was NOT legit. He is a debt collector working for some company that buys old, charged off debts. They are notorious for these types of practices. CAMCO was sued by the FTC for these types of practices and the FTC finally shut them down last year, but they had many subsidiaries and copycats. http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/12/camco.htm

What they told you was, the original debt was 2900, but with interest and penalties it is now 5500 and they would be willing to "settle" for the amount of the original debt in a one time payoff "deal" or else they would pursue you for the full amount ruthlessly.

Tell them to stop. Be civil, they won't be. Tell them you plan to sue them for breaking the law 1) calling before 8am 2) misrepresenting themselves 3) discussing debt with third parties, and 4) threatening action to which they are not entitled to pursue.

Know your rights. Check the statute of limitations in your state.
http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/statue-limitations.html

The Fair debt Collection Practices Act should be your guide.
http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/fair-debt-act.html

Get their address and send a letter by certified mail telling them to cease contact with you and your family members immediately. You can get a great template here: http://www.creditclean.com/cease_desist_letter.htm

Don't tell them anything, don't acknowledge anything! Don't let your wife talk to them.

Answer 5

If a collection agency calls, they should have already written you identifying themselves and the specific creditor they are representing. They cannot be deceptive or try to "up" the amount of money owed without proof of prior correspondence and a contract signed to allow for interest on late or unpaid payments. For anybody who says they're going to sue, they need written permission from the creditor before they can even tell you that.

Answer 6

If they were impersonating the IRS then they broke the law -big time.

Get a copy of her credit report, to see if it is even still on there.