On Saturday, my wife received a letter from NCO with a claim for almost $7000 in debt (from an original 4k). The former creditor was listed as "Chase/Assignee of Provi".
A quick search turned up the basic information. Junk debt that was sold to NCO, no actual checking of the files, random mailings to try and collect debt. Reading more I found out that we were lucky they've been successfully sued so many times, as they seem to have changed their strong-arm tactics. Our letter said that they'd gladly settle for about half the debt, to be paid in three easy payments. (Of course, this offer could expire at any time, so we'd best hurry! *rolls eyes*)
Like most people NCO has hit with the Chase/Providian line, this was an old debt canceled by bankruptcy almost 20 years back. Here's how I got the matter settled. Hopefully, this method will help you too.
I called this morning at around 8.40am and only waited on hold a matter of seconds. When the CSA picked up the line I explained we'd just received a letter from their company on a non-valid debt. He paused for a very long time and then asked for the code on the letter. He looked up the account and gave me a range of years the debt came from (like they didn't have the actual year). I told him my wife declared bankruptcy at that time and that the debt was included. He asked which month and we said we didn't know. He pointed out that he asked, because the year of bankruptcy was the same as the last payment, which was in November, and he wanted to check if it was before or after. Regardless he agreed that sometimes these things happen and agreed to mark the debt as canceled by bankruptcy.
There are two important things you should remember from the above scenario. First off, use the term "non-valid debt" or "no longer a valid debt". This lets them know that you've at least done some research and are not the gullible type they seem to go phishing for.
Secondly, it would seem vague answers are your best bet in response to their questions. He had all the information at his fingertips, but it seemed that he pretended as if he didn't to see if we'd say something that would allow him to assume the debt is valid.
Best of luck dealing with these people. Just remember to stay calm and confident, and you'll improve your chances of a satisfactory result.
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