Received letter (dated July 22) regarding a debt I apparently owed to Sprint Communications, whom they bought from LVNV Funding LLC. The letter went sent to me by Ken Hughes, which I've noticed from reading others on Usa Consumer Complaints.com, giving me 3 payment options to settle the $299.36 debt. I became baffled and called the number listed on the letter. The rep stated the account is regarding an outstanding debt I had with Sprint (last reported in '96) when they obtained the account September '97. I told the guy "whoa" why am I being contacted after all these years, especially now that the account is 8 yrs old, especially since it has passed the Statutes of Limitations. He explained Sprint had difficulties trying to locate me. I knew that was a lie right then and there because I've been a Sprint customer for 12 yrs now. He said it was either for a phone card or long distance service. I told him why would I need either one of those services when I have a cell phone. He kept going on and on about how I probably forgot about the phone card or long distance service... His explanation was simply "people forget". I asked him for more details regarding this issue but said he could only do so if I verified my social security number, which I refused to give over the phone. I told him if he has it in front of him, to give it to me and I'll decide whether or not I'd want to verify it. So, he did and to my amazement, he had it right.inside I was freaking out because he had my SSN but he still wouldn't give me detailed information. He demanded I make a payment ASAP because that would be the only way to remove it from my credit report. I've checked my credit report late last year and never saw it listed at all. I told him I refused to make any payment until I did further research. He became irate and started screaming profanity. I told him I was no longer going to do business with someone that was rude and I'd be in contact with them at a later date. I then proceeded to hang up.
I immediately called Sprint to see if they could assist me with this in details. They were surprised to see I was getting letters from a collection agencies regarding a debt with them. The rep (Sprint) told me I've never had any outstanding debt with them since I've acquired their services in '94. She asked for the account number and when I gave it to her, she stated what I already knew. Any bill you get for phone services, whether it be residential or cellular, your account number has your phone number as part of the sequence. She gave me the answer I needed and that put up a very huge red flag on Merchants' Credit Guide Co.
I proceeded to go on the Internet to see what research I get for Merchants' Credit Guide Co. And was surprised to see a lot of complaints regarding their business. Then I noticed the address: Chicago, IL. I'm from downtown Chicago and called my brother who still lives there. I asked him to do me a favor and check on the address. He called me back an hour later to tell me it was a house, not a business. He wanted to know why but I didn't tell him... Just that I was up to something and needed proof. When I did a phone search for the address, it came up with a Chicago number: (312) 360-3000. It was different than what the letter had given me.
Curiousity was definitely killing the cat in me. So, I proceeded to check my credit report and as of today, it has yet to be listed on the report. Matter of fact, it has never been listed on any credit report I've obtained in the past.
After all of the research I've done, I've finally decided I will be contacting my state's Attorney General's office first thing in the morning. Also plan to call the Illinois Attorney General since this is all coming from Chicago. Once I'm done with that, I plan to call my attorney as see what actions I could pursue again Merchants' Credit Guide Co. I am seriously thinking about going to my local police department to see if I can file a report against them for fraud and possible identity theft. That will depend on what my attorney tells me. I've already filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Somebody has suggested, on another forum, to send a certified letter to these people telling them to send me information regarding this "assumed" debt, showing amount owed to the original creditor and what actions I need to do if I believe I don't owe anything on this account. Again, that depends on what the attorney tells me. I'd love to put an end to these people and see them rot in h*.
The most important advice I have for those having to deal with these fraudulant people... Whatever you do, DO NOT GIVE THESE PEOPLE ANY MONEY!!! Do your research and get as much information as you can and file legal complaints with your state's Attorney General, Illinois Attorney General and the FTC. Hopefully, it they get bombarded with calls, they'll do something about this company and charge them with fraud. I'd love to see a class action lawsuit come out of this. I'd be the first in line. One more thing, check your credit reports... You can obtain them for free (seriously... I did) by going to Annualcreditreport.com for any disqupancies (sp?).
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