Word of Caution!

I am writing this for anyone who may encounter something similar.

About 2 years ago in December I got a phone call from a lady who said she was with a collection agency which freaked me out because although there was a time in my life when I was behind in bills often enough to get these calls I was no longer in that stage when I got the call. The lady and I spent about 30-40 minutes on the phone, but within the first 15 minutes she had me in tears telling me that I was a horrible person for not paying my debts and when I asked her what it was for and if she would get me a copy of it she responded with "YOU incurred the debt, ma'am you should know what it is for." Through tears I told her I had no idea what it was for, on and on we went. She then said if I did not pay $875 immediately they sheriff would be coming to my office with a warrant for my arrest. She also said that an attorney was already at the courthouse getting ready to file a judgment against me.

{NOW, keep in mind I work for an attorney and have worked in the legal field for 15 years so I should have known better but she got me to a point that I was so vulnerable and so scared that I honestly believed her!}

I continued to cry and tell her there was no way I could her that full amount and so then she turned on her "nice voice" and said calmly "Let me see what my manager will do." she came back to the line and said that they would take $450 immediately. So I gave them my debit card information and paid them.

For a brief moment I felt relieved - but then it hit me. It hit me that she had just completely lied to me! I called my husband and explained what happened. We tried to call the bank to cancel the charge and they said they wouldn't be able to do that, but that I could wait until it cleared my account and then fight it. Which we did, but couldn't fight.

These scammers know how much they can collect without it being a felony and also how to work the system!

I filed a complaint with my state's District Attorney's office, they investigated it and found them to be scammers but they could not force them to return my money and they told me I could hire an attorney to fight it - BUT again, for $450 I would spend more than that in legal fees PLUS the scammers were out of Florida and I do not live in Florida! The District Attorney sent them a letter that they could no longer practice business in Colorado, but I'm sure the scammers didn't care!

I'm sure what I have written is not news to you, I'm sure you have heard plenty of stories like this but what I want to warn you about is that I have now discovered that the scammers have either SOLD my information OR have just started a new business and hope to catch me when I'm weak again because the calls have started again.

One way to tell that they are scammers is that they don't want to give you copies of the debt information. By law a bill collector has to give that to you if you request it. Recently, I had a call from a bill collector for a doctor and I knew she was legit because as soon as I asked for documentation she said "sure, give me a couple weeks and I will get it to you by mail." and within a couple weeks I had all the papers proving I had not completely paid that doctor's bill.

Scammers also are very rude and try to intimidate and they tell lots of lies (warrants being issued, wage garnishments filed in your name, attorney at court house, etc.). Make sure you know your rights and hold your ground, if it is a legitimate debt the bill collector will be willing to work with you, a scammer will continue to be rude.

So now that I have figured out my info has been sold to other scammers I am on high alert. I even got a call at my office (which was the giveaway that my info had been sold because they came in on a back-line and I don't give out that number but I did call that first scammer from my office back line!) and the gentlemen who called said almost word for word what the first scammer said to me. I told him to remove this number from his call list and if he would mail me the debt documentation I would look it over. His response was "I've mailed it several times and you've ignored it. I also have mailed you a motion." {being wiser now and using my legal experience I said "what kind of motion?" and his response was "A motion for your arrest." -- There is no motion for an arrest that can be filed. When I told him I didn't believe him he said "Fine, I'll see you in court" I took great pleasure in saying "YES you will!!!" knowing full well he had no court date, no motions and no grounds to collect any debt from me!}

Anyway, I just want everyone to be very careful of any bill collector calls and be sure you do not pay scammers - remember to ask for copies of the debt if you are unsure of what they are referencing. Sometimes even scammers will use names of debts to try to lure you in, but a legitimate debt collector knows exactly what the charges are for and what company and if they don't know it they will find out for you. You will lose your money most likely and they are hard to track down and they know it! So just be very, very careful!