If you are reading this it is likely that like myself, for some reason the bill collection agency named " Allied interstate" has a folder with your name on it and they are calling you frequently and leaving messages on your answering machine that implore you to call them quickly about a urgent personal matter, the contents of which are so secret they can't divulge them over the phone.
Perhaps you failed to pay a bill or maybe, as in my case they are attempting to hold you responsible for a debt you know nothing about or perhaps they are in search of someone who they believe lives at the home where your phone rings.
If Any collection agency calls you out of the blue and you know you are not behind in any of your bills the very first thing you need to do, (and do it quickly) is to get a copy of your current credit report from all three of the major credit reporting agency's to see if you have been a victim of identity theft. If you are an identity theft victim there will probably be things on those reports that you do not recognise. You need to get them quickly and I suggest you begin with the Equifax credit reporting agency because their reports are the most detailed and complete of the 3 companies reporting on peoples credit.
If Allied interstate collection agency has you in their sights it is not going to matter one little bit if they are calling you in error or if someone has taken your identity and run up bills in your name. They have a folder with your name and phone number on it and their only mission is to get you to send money to them.in this arena, you are guilty untill proven innocent and as terrible as it seems, there currently exist's no mechanism to prove your case to them. Simply put, they are not interested in any other words from you other than that you are going to send them money.
Although there are laws that regulate the bill collection agency, you are going to discover that these laws lack enforcement in any meaningfull way to protect people from abuse. If you have an attorney draft a "cease and desist" letter to Allied to stop the phone calls you will be very disapointed to learn it was all for nothing because Allied will continue to phone your number at will.
I have always believed that all problems can be worked out through talking but my phone conversations with the people at allied have been a total waste of time. They are programmed to not believe a word you say or accept any doccuments you might wish to produce to clear yourself. It's a total dead end and I am sorry to say that there does not seem to be any government agency that is really ready and able to help us defend ourselfs against the renegade bill collection agencys.
I think I have been a victim of identity theft but I am not 100 percent sure of that at this point. It could be a data entry error problem with Allied or with the client that gave them the delinquent account they are attempting to collect on.
If you have been a victim of identity theft I want to caution you against holding any hope that the collection agency or the original creditor will in any way help you sort it out.
The big name stores in America are handing out easy instant credit willy nilly now in order to improve their sales figures for wall street. They know all about the increasing fraud going on but they have no incentive to stop it because they can write it off and the victims of identity theft are the ones who have to shoulder the entire burden of damaged personal credit and the endless time spent fighting off the bill collectors like Allied.
Dan
plymouth
U.S.A.
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