Tonight, I returned a missed phone call from the Dayton area. They wanted to confirm something in order to send legal documents. I called back as soon as I got home. It fed me through the usual "Please hold while we connect you" deal, and a man answered the line. He was screaming "Hello?!" several times at me, and I finally was able to get him to hear me. He had me repeat my phone number multiple times, and said I did not have an account with them. Finally when I was able to have him put in the correct phone number, he launched into the usual speech of collections. He had an American accent. He said that his name was Eric Fontaine of Edwards Receivable & Services, and he represented the company Cash Advance America and this was for a long overdue payday loan bill.
I told him I have no knowledge of this matter, having never heard of this particular company until today. Could he please mail me the information to take a closer look? He then informed me that he could only email it, and that by emailing it I was accepting their decision to move forward in the "proceedings". Additionally, he said that a lawsuit would be filed against me, and possible jail time. And the only way to avoid was to pay all charges to the total of $720.96. Assuming this is a legitimate debt (and of course after I received the paperwork and reviewed for accuracy), I asked what kind of payment plan they offer. I was told that they could do 6 monthly payments of $120.16 or if I wanted to pay now it would be the $720.96. I told him I didn't have those funds available, and he offered a sum of $468.65 instead. I repeated that I would need a payment plan AFTER receiving their information and verifying, and he asked me to wait while he "spoke to a supervisor to get this approved". Then I was placed on hold for several minutes, just dead air. I finally hung up.
I put the number into Google before calling, and it comes up with a direct link to "Mayberry's Van & Storage". He didn't try to call back. I am also unable to find the Edwards company name (or anything close). I have seen lots of things online about people going through similar situations (same company name too), and I am not sure what to do.
If anyone has any advice, I would greatly appreciate it. This has pretty much ruined my night to say the least.
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