It started about two a little over a month ago when i got a phone call at home. The conversation started with the typical hello is johnnie there i said this is him and it quickly went to you have a debt of 694.00 from AT&T wireless and he was calling to collect and how i would like to cover this debt. I politely explained to him that it must be a mistake, that i have never had a AT&T wireless account. He went on to say it was from 1995 and " IT WAS MY DEBT "and that i needed to give him my cc # so that he may close the file on it.
At this point i knew something as wrong and asked for him to send me a copy of the debt. At this point the conversation went south as he started to belittle me by saying how do i think dont have to pay when i had incurred this debt i insisted on him to send me the file and confirmed my address once more and hung up.
The next day it started again this time it got more aggressive and got to the point of him calling me a f*in slug who cant pay his bills i was so taken back that i started yelling at him and hung up. He called me back 3 times that day witch i hung up each time. This has conutined for a month. Each time i spoke to them i tried to explain that there facts were wrong to send me something. I did some research and found the FDCPA and and the next time they called i reprted this
Collector: "Hello, is Bill Debtor there?" (Or is this Bill's wife)?
You: "Who is calling please?" (Do not let the use of your first name throw you off guard, always confirm who you are speaking with. Under the FDCPA, collectors must identify themselves and their company)
Collector: "This is Mr. Collector from ABC collections, the collection agency representing Way Past Due on your outstanding balance of $3,700. I need to know if you are able to take care of this past due bill at this time.
" You: "Hold on while I turn on my tape recorder." (After turning on recorder ask the caller to repeat his or her name, company and reason for calling.) Then say, "I do not believe I owe this debt. Send me the information on this debt according to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act so that I may review it."
Expect the collector to use questions or statements in an attempt to get you to admit the debt is yours. Do not answer these questions, stick to the answer outlined above and insist on the collector following the FDCPA by sending you the proper information - stay focused
Their script tells them to ignore your response and press on with asking you a bunch of questions.By refusing to take the "bait" you frustrate their efforts because your answer is not on their script. At this point, many collectors are unsure of what to say or do next so they resort to anger. Remain calm and be sure your tape recorder is on!
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