fradulant verizon bill
Complaint
gina simmons
Country: United States
I have just received a collection notice from Afni Inc that states I owe $246.85 to verizon. This account is said to be from 1999. I don't owe verizon anything.When asked why if I owed this then why haven't I heard anything until now. The Afni employee said that gte was taken over by verizon, and that the files had not been audited in the last 5-10 years. This Afni company has now bought these files, but have no notes on any bills that have or have not been paid. I could not beleive that people could get away with this scam. I have filed a better buisness report, and have found out the statue of limitations law in my state. It was very helpful, and I now know my rights under the laws to proctect people from monsters like Afni. I have had a verizon account for the last past 5 years,and have never had any problems. It's unfortunate that a company like Afni is smearing the Verizon name.
Comments
http://www.carreonandassociates.com/articles/ ... ond-opinion.htm
Is is even likely that the account was ever yours?
If they are reporting erroneously on your credit reports, dispute in writing with the CRAs after they have received your validation request to have legal standing to sue under FDCPA and FCRA. If they don't remove erroneous information, or re-age and report accounts over 7 years old, contact an attorney specializing in FDCPA and FCRA litigation. Their rate of federal FDCPA lawsuits has doubled in the last 6 months.
Show you will not go silently into the night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Verison Today is the day i switch my service!!!!
Having correct SSN and DOB information is no proof that an account was originally opened in your name, either by you or thru id theft, as Afni can look up your SSN and DOB once they decide to collect from you, and many consumers who report receiving a letter from Afni for a debt they do not owe (most consumer complaints are that they never had such an account), also report that Afni had their correct SSN and DOB.
If a consumer claims they were a minor at the time an account was opened, they have been reported to have claimed that the account was "obviously" id theft by a relative, but that if the (now adult) consumer isn't willing to file fraud charges with the police, then they have to pay it because they "allowed" their name to be used to open the account. (Pretty weak legal argument, since just as a minor has no legal capacity to contract for the account, they would have no legal capacity to authorize anyone else to do the same in their name.) Since in virtually all cases Afni does not provide "validation", it is impossible to determine whether there was ever any id theft, or this is just another erroneous identification, with Afni erroneously alleging the consumer's past address was on the account.
In fact, although any debt claim by Afni for an account you have no knowledge of should be disputed and validation should be requested, mailed certified return receipt requested, to preserve your FDCPA rights, it is not clear what "validation" received from Afni can be trusted. Some consumers have reported receiving a sheet of paper that could have been printed out on any computer, of unknown origin, as "validation", and some have reported receiving a letter from Afni itself, claiming they have "confirmed" or "verified" the debt with the original creditor, with no proof (original statement, or even confirmation letter on creditor letterhead) that any such "confirmation" was ever actually made by the original creditor. Most responses, if any is even received, have been that they cannot validate at this time, but they demand a bunch of consumer information before they will process the "dispute".
Here is a report that may reveal what they are mostly doing:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/262/RipOff0262142.htm
"Today I received an attempt by AFNI to collect $355.67 on a Cingular account. They said if I sent half of this I would no longer have to worry about this 'obligation '.
We called the toll-free number and were told this was the fifteenth letter they had sent! The account supposedly is from 2000. They could give no telephone number, or provide any information whatsoever. We filed a dispute and told them we expect to hear from them before the 31st, and that we are also filing a fraud report.
Michael Moore should focus on this issue....."
It is hardly credible that Afni has actually sent 15 letters to this one consumer's address, yet they never received even a one. Now, 15 letters to 15 "similar name matches" at different addresses all over the state or the country, virtually all of whom do not owe this debt? In attempting to brow-beat this consumer, the collection agent might have let slip a glimmer of truth.
Have you called Verizon's fraud department and asked them whether they even have any account under your name and SSN?
Every response they make is crafted to maximize their payment chances, whether you owe the debt or not. The original letter told you that you could request validation, and under FDCPA if you do so within 30 days of their letter, they must stop all collection activity until they obtain it from the original creditor and send it to you.
The collection agent now tells you to file a fraud affidavit, with no mention of your FDCPA right to send a written validation request disputing the debt. Instead of freezing their ability to collect, for a debt they cannot validate (you know it is in fact not your account), they get you to run out the 30 day clock to request timely validation, have the possibility that your local police won't take your id theft complaint without some paper documentation, get to "reject" your dispute and demand further "proof" (old leases, copies of identification etc.), to keep their collection claim in play hoping to force you to pay. After you send all that, they might even reject it anyway (this lease doesn't cover the period of the account), and since they never sent you validation, you have no way of knowing what to dig up to prove you don't owe it.
If they are mailing debts to a bunch of consumers who don't owe them, especially when they may be mailing multiple collection letters to different consumers on the same original account, they have little interest in actually "validating" any of these "debts", since that actually costs them money and would only show that most of the consumers didn't owe it. They would rather NOT have you request validation, so you couldn't sue them for continuing to collect, while they continue to pressure you for payment hoping you give up and pay them a debt you don't owe.
http://www.fraudsandscams.com/strategy.htm
collectors. Another 'Verizon' scam. I have never had Verizon as a phone
carrier and I have never even owned a cell phone! I haven't lived in the
state they claim its from for over a decade. It seems they figure Verizon's
customer service is bad and went back 10-12 year old phone books and
mass-mailed out these 'chain letters' with random amounts to many people
figuring at one point we all had / have a cell phone and are or have been
Verizon customers. If you use the below letter, make sure you send it
certified mail and send copies of your reply and thier letter(s) to the
Illinois and your home state Atty General's office as well as file a
complaint with the US postal service. DO NOT give them any information such
as ssn, phone #, drivers license, etc.
Afni, Inc.
P.O.Box 3427
Bloomington, IL 61702-3427
Re: Dispute of Collection Action: Case # <insert acct #>
On <date> I received a written notice of the claimed debt, a copy of which
is attached.
This is to inform you that I dispute the debt because <explain here>. I am
hereby requesting that you confirm the fact that I owe this debt as required by any applicable state and federal laws. Please contact the creditor to obtain verification.
In addition, under the provisions of state and federal Fair Debt Collection
Practices Act (FDCPA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and related
consumer statutes, I am hereby instructing you that you are to cease
collection of the debt while efforts are made to obtain verification. Until
you resolve this error with the creditor, you should neither contact me nor
anyone else except the creditor about this collection.
Furthermore, any reporting of this matter to a credit reporting agency is
premature. Until you have investigated my dispute, you should not relay
negative information to a credit reporting agency. If negative information
has already been reported, you will need to notify the agency to remove said report until the investigative process is over so that my credit report remains accurate, or at the very least, my credit report should be updated to reflect my dispute.
Your next contact with me should be either notice that the creditor has
failed to provide verification of the debt and that the matter has been
closed or that you believe that this debt is valid and are providing proof
of my responsibility. If the former, please confirm that I am not being held responsible for the debt in writing and also that if the account has already been noted on my credit report, that you will contact the bureau(s) in question to have the account removed. If the latter, I expect that you will provide me with an explanation as to why you have decided not to remove this account from collections and a copy of all documents relevant to the debt such as the application, bills, records of communications and payments, and any other data that indicates my responsibility.
I am instructing you not to contact any third parties such as my employer,
neighbors, friends or family members. In addition, you may not contact me by phone at work or at my home about this collection activity. All future
correspondence should be sent to me in writing.
I am also forwarding a copy of this letter and all correspondence to the
Illinois and <your home state> Attorney General's offices and The U.S.
Postal Inspector.
I look forward to your acknowledgement that you have received this notice by <date allowing 2 weeks for response>.
Sincerely,
---------------------------------------
your name
Your address
Date mailed
A$$$'s name
Address
Ref: Your collection letter dated xx/xx/xx,
Your account number xxxxxx
On xx/xx/xx I received your written notice of an alleged debt, a copy of which is attached.
I dispute this debt because I do not owe it. This is not my account. (Or this account was paid in <xxxxx>, etc.)<explain here>.
I am requesting that you obtain competent written proof that I owe this debt from the original creditor, as required by FDCPA, and send it to me. Otherwise, cease all further collection activity, including further demands for payment, and reporting or verifying unvalidated debt information to credit reporting agencies, until you have done so, as required by FDCPA.
All future contact must be by U.S. Mail. Do not contact me at work, and it is inconvenient for me to receive your phone calls at any time.
A copy of this letter has been sent to the offices of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, to my state's Attorney General, and to the U.S.
Postal Inspector along with my complaints.
I expect your prompt attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
your name (if you sign, sign over your printed name)
Attached: Your collection letter, dated xx/xx/xx
CC: Illinois Attorney General
CC: My State Attorney General
CC: U.S. Postal Inspector
Sent via Certified Mail: nnnn-nnnn-nnnn-nnnn-nnnn
--------------------------------------------------------------
Send Certified, Return Receipt Requested, and keep copies.
Negative information can only be reported on credit reports for 7 years from the date it was originally charged-off or sent to collection, at most 7 years plus 180 days from the date of first delinquency (missed payment).
See: http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcradoc.pdf
"§ 605..Requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports [15 U.S.C.§1681c ]
(a)Information excluded from consumer reports.Except as authorized under subsection
(b)of this section,no consumer reporting agency may make any consumer report
containing any of the following items of information:
...
(4)Accounts placed for collection or charged to profit and loss which antedate the report by more than seven years."
That threat false and deceptive, since they cannot legally carry it out, and as such, a violation of FDCPA.
See item (5): http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm#807
"A debt collector may not use any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt. Without limiting the general application of the foregoing, the following conduct is a violation of this section:
...
(5) The threat to take any action that cannot legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken. "
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm#809
§ 809. Validation of debts [15 USC 1692g]
(a) Within five days after the initial communication with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt, a debt collector shall, unless the following information is contained in the initial communication or the consumer has paid the debt, send the consumer a written notice containing --
(1) the amount of the debt;
(2) the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed;
(3) a statement that unless the consumer, within thirty days after receipt of the notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector;
(4) a statement that if the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, the debt collector will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against the consumer and a copy of such verification or judgment will be mailed to the consumer by the debt collector; and
(5) a statement that, upon the consumer's written request within the thirty-day period, the debt collector will provide the consumer with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor.
(b) If the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period described in subsection (a) that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, or that the consumer requests the name and address of the original creditor, the debt collector shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof, until the debt collector obtains verification of the debt or any copy of a judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy of such verification or judgment, or name and address of the original creditor, is mailed to the consumer by the debt collector.
(c) The failure of a consumer to dispute the validity of a debt under this section may not be construed by any court as an admission of liability by the consumer. "
FDCPA and FCRA are Consumer Protection laws. They are required to comply with BOTH the validation requirements of FDCPA, AND the requirements of the FACTA additions to FCRA regarding handling fraudulent accounts. Neither FCRA nor FDCPA says they get to drop one set of obligations just because they have other additional obligations.
If you requested validation of the debt in writing within 30 days of receiving their first letter (which should have notified you of your right to do so), then they must stop all collection activities until they obtain validation from the original creditor and send it to you.
Their deceptive claim that they no longer have to validate before continuing collection is ANOTHER FDCPA violation.
And indeed, why would you NOT request validation on an account you know nothing about, especially if you suspected fraud? That would be your first step in trying to resolve the matter.