False or errant attemp to collect fake ATT balance
Complaint
J.L.M.
Country: United States
I received a letter from AFNI in reference to an ATT Mobile balance.
First off, I have NEVER done business with ATT Mobile, or ATT anything, EVER.
The letter states that it's a one time offer and that my balance is $270, but they will settle for $100.00 if paid within 10 days.
I've had a Nextel phone for more than 14 years now, when I bought my first cell phone, ATT wasn't even an option since they had no service in my area.
Do these people really think I would just send money for some screw up on their part or their blatant attempt to make a quick buck?
First off, I have NEVER done business with ATT Mobile, or ATT anything, EVER.
The letter states that it's a one time offer and that my balance is $270, but they will settle for $100.00 if paid within 10 days.
I've had a Nextel phone for more than 14 years now, when I bought my first cell phone, ATT wasn't even an option since they had no service in my area.
Do these people really think I would just send money for some screw up on their part or their blatant attempt to make a quick buck?
Comments
Yes, apparently they do.
They think they can get away with a shot at any "error" they make, maybe even two shots, so they just send bills to people with maybe only similar names.
If it's not your account, it's not your balance, and you don't owe it.
Do not contact them by phone, as they are reported to use various deceptive statements to lead consumers toward paying unowed bills.
They have been sending bills to people who don't owe them for years, using deception and stonewalling to attempt to coeerce payment without validation. They have been caught numerous times, most notably by the Minnesota AG with respect to old Verizon and Qwest accounts, and in a 3 state federal class action lawsuit they lost over deceptive letters sent in response to validation requests.
They cut corners in their skip-tracing, probably sending out dunning letters to any similar name anywhere in the country, and some complaints report they may even be sending bills to people whose only connection with some old account was that they once lived at the billing address.
In 2007, they sent many of these bogus bills on old Verizon accounts from Verizon's purchase of other telecoms, and told confused callers that "it must be id theft", after which they demanded payment of unowed debts or that they "prove" it wasn't. Their tactics actually skewed FTC's id theft statistics in 2007, making Verison and AFNI jump from around the bottom of the 25 top companies connected with id theft reports, to #1 and #2.
They are also reported to post damaging tradelines on even these sloppy skip-traced bills, so check your credit reports and dispute any errors you find there through the CRAs. The first step toward establishing FCRA liability for erroneous credit reporting is disputing through the CRA, followed by erroneous "verification" by the data furnisher (AFNI).
Their first letter to you was required by FDCPA to contain language notifying you of your right to dispute, and that if you disputed within 30 days, they would cease collections until they obtained and sent proof:
"...
§ 809. Validation of debts
(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. Collection activities and communications that do not otherwise violate this title may continue during the 30-day period referred to in subsection (a) unless the consumer has notified the debt collector in writing that the debt, or any portion of the debt, is disputed or that the consumer requests the name and address of the original creditor. Any collection activities and communication during the 30-day period may not overshadow or be inconsistent with the disclosure of the consumer’s right to dispute the debt or request the name and address of the original creditor.
(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.
..."
You should immediately send them a letter, mailed certified, return receipt requested, notifying them that the alleged debt is disputed, you have never had an ATT account, and that you demand proof from the original creditor that you owe it. On receipt of that letter, sent within 30 days of their first letter, they are required to cease all collection activity until they obtain and send proof you owe it, otherwise they violate FDCPA and you can sue.
By the way, their "10 day" offer may overshadow the above notice, violating FDCPA, as it implies you must decide to pay them in 10 days without exercising your FDPCA validation rights. You should run this by a consumer attorney, as suing them may be the most direct way to resolve this, since they are reported to cheat with validation and credit reporting, trying to stonewall, delay, and deceive consumers until they pay anyway.
Both FDCPA and FCRA allow courts to award damages and attorney fees if you win, so many attorneys take these cases on contingency. You might find a consumer attorney in your state through www.naca.net
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(You can find more on this and other sites, going back to at least 2004.)
Note that the most common pattern of complaint is receiving a bill for an account consumers credibly claim is not theirs, with AFNI using deceptive talk-offs or stonewalling to try to collect it anyway. "It's id theft" is one of their most common talk-off gambits, probably used as cover for all their "errors", so they can keep collection in play on "misidentified" dunning.
Be forewarned that their "verification" letters may be fabrications, creating the impression they checked something while not literally saying they checked with the original creditor. Many consumers have reported receiving letters claiming the "account was verified", even when they know they never had any such account and may even have checked with the telecom company themselves and verified nothing was under their name or SSN. AFNI "verifications" often leave out critical identity information, such as actual original billing name and address, and final statement date, that might prove the account was misidentified. They seldom send copies of the original creditor's final statement, which would most directly resolve these "errors". This careful "lie of ommission" may be an indicator of their willful intent to defraud.
Get an attorney so they know you are serious. They are reported to cave easily, but will try to bluff if they think they can get away with it.
They have several state AGs looking at them, and their federal class action lawsuit brought their deceptive letter routine to the attention of plaintiff's attorneys. (Consumer complaints had already been reporting it for several years before suit was filed in 2008.)
AFNI has paid them off to get their A+ rating, and they assist in helping limit consumer complaints before they become AG complaints. They joined BBB in mid 2007, in the midst of the Verizon collection campaign, yet despite high levels of BBB complaints, AFNI tactics did not change. BBB just reported that the complaints were "resolved".