DEBT COLLECTION?????
Complaint
christy
Country: United States
I was shocked to see this website...I just got a bill from a debt collector that claims I owe Verizon 727.81 from a landline telephone I allegedly had back in 1995. When I was in high school. And lived with my parents. At a different address than where this random phone line was connected.
What is going on?
What is going on?
Comments
Did you receive it from Afni? They discuss it here https://complaintwire.org/Complaint.aspx/BL6ADlQfXwAGogjJkKUatA
People have reported receiving their collection letters addressed to names they haven't used in years, even to them under names (maiden names or changes due to marriage or divorce) that didn't exist at the time of the alleged account, on accounts they never opened. One letter was addressed to a lady's father, who had died a number of years ago, on an alleged account from decades back, but sent to her address.
Quite a few consumers have reported getting their letters on alleged accounts they never opened, that would have been opened while they were minors, as in your case. In credit terms, you didn't exist at the time this account was opened, yet because you exist now, they can "find" you and claim you owe it. Although some of these might be relatives using children's identity to open accounts, the high level of all misidentifications points more to sloppy or intentional errors in searching and matching databases to locate anyone they can allege owes a "debt".
There have been some consumers who report that AFNI has sent colletion letters on Verizon accounts that were previously paid, or for disputes that were settled and reversed by Verizon, and in some cases the consumer could verify thru Verizon that the amount was not owed, yet AFNI ended up with their information and attempted to collect.
They have also been reported to have sent letters to other adults they claim lived at the address of the original account. These often appear as an alleged account near the time at which the consumer lived at the alleged address, but months or years before or after the time they lived there. AFNI employees on other websites have claimed any adult at an address of one of their "accounts" is responsible for that "debt".
This is particularly devious in the case of former college students living in dorms, or young adults living several to a house, where all the occupants change frequently, and all the phone numbers are periodically reassigned, but from the same 3 digit exchange. AFNI's practice of billing people whose past address matches that on a bill may easily convince someone to pay a debt they do not owe, since the 3 digit exchange number will sound familiar, even if the whole phone number was never theirs. Several consumers have reported that they thought it actually was their account, since they checked it against various phone numbers for the college, and found it had the same 3 digit exchange number.
The other tactic they try is to claim someone you know lived at the address where the account was opened. They may rattle off a bunch of names and ask you if you recognize any of them. What they are searching for is some acquaintence, preferably a relative, that they can claim opened the account "with your permission", which they claim makes you "responsible for the debt". AFNI employees on some websites have claimed that "if you know the person, you let them use your name, so you owe it." This accusation is particularly effective with relatives, since they demand that you file a police report accusing the person of id theft, even though they have sent you no documentation at all to even show there ever was any debt, let alone that person was involved in it, and if you won't they demand you pay them for being complicit in opening the account. This way, they sidestep the FDCPA prohibition against abusively threatening you with arrest, by demanding that you accuse your relative of a crime.
You know you didn't open this account, and since you were a minor, you couldn't even legally make a contract to do so. You know it isn't even at any address you ever lived at, and that neither you, nor even your parents, had that phone number. It is also on a 12 year old debt, which they cannot legally report to credit reporting agencies, nor can they sue. All they can do is threaten, which they do indirectly to try to get around FDCPA prohibitions.
Respond to their letter by sending a letter, certified with return receipt requested so you have proof they got it. In your letter, indicate that you received their collection letter on xx/xx/xx, that you dispute the debt, that it is not your account and you do not owe it. Demand that they send you written validation of the debt obtained from the original creditor to prove you owe it. Notify them that they may not contact you at work, and that it is inconvenient for them to contact you by phone at any time. Notify them that in accordance with FDCPA, they may not attempt collection of this alleged debt in any manner until they have sent you competent validation. Notify them that since according to them this debt is from 1995, it is illegal for them to report it to any credit reporting agency, and that it is also illegal for them to take or threaten any legal action (check your state's Statute of Limitation).
At the bottom, put:
Enclosed: copy of your collection letter dated xx/xx/xx
Sent certified on xx/xx/xx, nnnn-nnnn-nnnn-nnnn-nnnn-nnnn
(the number on the Certified receipt)
Include a copy of their collection letter, and send it U.S. Mail, Certified, Return Receipt Requested. When the green card comes back, staple it to your copies of what you sent.
Don't bother trying to call them. Their employees are trained to try to convince you to pay whether you owe it or not. They may claim it will damage your credit (how can it if they can't report it). They may use their access to your credit reports, and their databases of past addresses to claim you somehow owe it, or "lent" someone your name to open it. They may claim they have your SSN and DOB, and that "proves" you opened it, or allowed someone else to open it. They may actually have it, but not from any account information from Verizon. As one AFNI employee told a consumer, reported on one of the consumer forum websites, it was their job to "assume", basically suggesting anything that might "remind" the consumer about this "debt" they "forgot".
If you want to have some fun, call Verizon and see what they have to say about this alleged account, via account number and phone number. See if they show anything under your name and SSN.
Based on consumer reports, AFNI employees will generally claim Verizon shows nothing for one of several reasons:
1) Verizon employees are too stupid to find it.
2) AFNI employees are so smart they can find you anywhere, and their databases prove it was you.
3) It may not be Verizon, it might have been GTE, or MCI, or ATT, but they don't have to tell you who it really was. You just owe it.
4) This debt is so old, they don't have to validate anything anymore.
5) Verizon sent AFNI all the records, so Verizon doesn't have them anymore.
6) They already sent you 15 letters, so you can't request validation anymore.
7) You can only dispute thru their website, which requires that you enter your personal identification information to even find that you can only dispute as "paid", or "fraud", not the obvious "AFNI is sending bills to the wrong people".
8) Since you claimed this wasn't your account, it must be fraud, so they changed the "status" of this dispute to a "fraud dispute" at your request. You have to go file a police report and fraud affidavit, send a bunch of your identification and past lease agreements to prove it was not you, and since it is now a "fraud" dispute, they don't have to validate it anymore. Or you can simply pay it, and they have a special 50% discount if you pay it now.
Get the pattern?
See how they respond. Let us know.
You can find a consumer attorney in your state through www.naca.net
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcradoc.pdf
FDCPA places requirements on all debt collectors regarding the consumer's right to dispute and request validation of debt, and also defines various illegal debt collection practices. You can sue them in either your local state or federal court if they violate, for actual or statutory damages, including your attorney fees if you win.
FCRA places requirements on both credit reporting agencies and anyone who reports information to them, regarding accuracy of reported information, consumer dispute procedures, and the requirements of both to investigate and correct errors. Again, you can sue them in either your local state or federal court if they violate.
If you are looking for an attorney with expertise in this area, you might try www.naca.net
Look for attorneys in your state with expertise in FDCPA, FCRA, and consumer debt litigation. You may find that attorneys who do bankruptcy law also deal in this sort of litigation.
Have you sent a complaint to Verizon's executive offices, and additionally through BBB?
Thank you.
Anyways, their credit department are actually real human beings who can help you get your credit report clean. I paid a $130 bill (which I didn't owe, I had cancelled my account and they kept billing me, after arguing with them they told me they had put it "in dispute" well they never did their part to dispute it, just waited 3 months then put it on my credit report as a claim I owed them, totally messed up my credit form 790 to 600, and I couldn't get a home loan). One week later my credit report was clean. If you buying a home or looking for a car loan, what you need is a letter saying that Verizon has deleted their credit claim from your credit report. If you can clear up your account enough to get that letter, it should be only like 30 days until your credit clears up a bit.
If your credit is really messed up suggest you contact a lawyer, accountant, or even talk to a mortgage broker they deal with this stuff all the time.
I agree with another poster who said that you should familiarize yourself with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and would add that you should check your own state's laws regarding fair debt and fair credit issues.
I found some helpful information about AFNI and Verizon on this site: http://stopcollector.com/agency.php?n=afni
thank you so much again
CUSTOMER SERVICE REPS LIE ARE RUDE AND CAUSE FURTHER FRUSTRATION
WARNING: IF YOU EVER HAVE A BILLING PROBLEM THEY WILL RUIN YOUR CREDIT AND NOT RECTIFY IT EVEN WHEN IT IS THEIR MISTAKE.
The customer service reps lie to you to get you off the phone. And have you call another Verizon dept with even crappier people who just add to your frustration. I have been a Verizon customer since they started in Maryland. NEVER paying LATE. EVER. Except when I cancelled the landline. They never sent me a final bill until I received a collection notice. I paid it right away and called Verizon to ensure it did not get on my credit. They said it would not. LIED. It did get on the credit report and dropped my credit score 100 points. For an F-ING $60 paid 2 months late. I called Verizon to have it removed from credit report. First off the ignorant, rude representative named Inez said “ I doubt they’ll take it off the report once it’s on there” in a foul attitude. I explained about the credit score, how I was an on time paying customer forever, the past 20 years. I was calling for my husband and I had to give her the exact amount of the last payment to verify security. I was unable to at the time. After all that she said she could not help me anyway I had to call collections and have the security information with me when I called. I called collections 5 minutes later when I found the amount. The next Rep in collections Cecilia was even more foul then Inez. She said “The customer service representative just told you we could not talk to you about this account”. This is what she wrote on my account, that she told me they could not discuss my husband’s account. Inez LIED AGAIN. I kept trying to tell her this was not what Inez told me, that she told me to have the information when calling collections. But Cecelia kept stressing the conversation by cutting me off and kept repeating Mam, Mam. Pointless. I ended up just hanging up on her in frustration. She could care less that the previous person flat out lied to me. God only know what she wrote in my transaction with her. That’s another thing, you don’t know what comments they are putting on your account. They lie about the conversation on your account.
To get anywhere with this I had to call the credit reporting agency and they filed a dispute. Gladly this rep was polite, correct and informative. The Better Business Bureau will get this report next. This is horrible and so frustrating. These customer service people just take so much joy in slamming the door in your face. Right off the beginning, both were just abrupt, rude and abrasive. They are like Comcast used to be when they were a monopoly. Well Verizon is not a monopoly and I am shopping for a new internet service provider. The problem is that my $30 dsl line a month will not put a dent in their pocket. They will not miss me and they will continue to sabotage their customers because I am just a grain of sand to them. This will happen to you to !!!
I received a bill last month that clearly stated. DO NOT PAY THIS BILL YOU ARE ENROLLED IN THE AUTOMATIC PAYMENT PLAN. THE MONEYS WOULD BE TAKEN OUT OF YOUR ACCOUNT ON OCTOBER 13, 2010. On October 2nd. I had just spent about two hours on the phone with Verizon trying to straighten out my account. As soon as I hung up with "customer service" (Now there's an oxymoron) The phone rang...A collection agency wanting me to pay the bill...I called back livid. If I could have reached through the phone with my fist....I was finally connected to the collection department. I guess Verizon has one employee who knows what they're doing. Megan handled my concerns and removed the collection notice. I thougth that was the end of it...Now I'm sitting here blood pressure through the roof. after trying to deal with Verizon sucks for the past three hours. Round two tomorrow...