Complaint / Review
Camco
Shady debt collection practices

Received a call from CAMCO this afternoon stating that I owed $956 from a ten year old debt. They were willing to settle the debt for $239 if I paid by check over the phone.

Fantastic. What a bargain. Wait a minute, I did have a credit card go delinquent about ten years ago, but paid it off over 8 years ago when I set about getting my life in order. That was the only card I had at that time. Is this the card they're talking about?

Well, I was told that the $239 settlement was only good today, and that if they had to research the debt in order to provide my with information such as the account number and when the card was opened, I had to pay the full $956 plus EXPENSES based on how much they have to expend in finding this information.

I told the gentlemen that I was writing this information down and repeated back that if I wanted to pay off the bill with no proof that I owe it I could do so for $239. If I wanted proof that this bill was actually mine (again, things such as the account number and when and where the credit card was opened), I have to pay the full $956 plus any expenses accrued in finding this information.

I should add that he couldn't tell me if this was a credit card, checking account line of credit or anything else.

"But we have your social security number and all your previous addresses from when you were growing up", he said. "How could we know this if this wasn't your debt?"

I had to pursue this and ask him to tell me all of the addresses for my residences as a child. He could not. He said that the addresses they have are from where I've lived as an adult. I guess he had gone out on a limb there or something, carried away by the moment and all.

Also, I can find all of my previous addresses, from places I've lived as an adult, in about three minutes online.

Finally, as I was reading back to him what he told me for confirmation, he said, "Your $500 dollars isn't worth my time", and hung up. Where did the $500 dollars come from? I don't know. As of right now I have no idea whether the issue is dead or if they're still pursuing it.