They call with a blocked #,,,,never leave a message. Today I answered and they asked for my full name and i said yes and they hung up. WTF?
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tj
They are a debt collector that guarantees customer checks for merchants, and collects on them when they bounce.
If you haven't bounced a check, there may be someone with a similar name who has. They may think you are them. Or someone may have forged a check, with your name, or your account number.
They have a history of complaints of contacting the wrong people.
It is illegal for them to call without disclosing their identity on request. In addition, they are required to disclose that they are attempting to collect a debt. It is also illegal for them to repeatedly call in order to harass.
Also, since they have now contacted you, presumably to collect a debt, they are required by FDCPA to send you a letter within 5 days notifying you of the alleged debt, and that if you don't dispute withing 30 days, they will assume it is valid. (That does NOT mean it becomes owed, although debt collectors often fraudulently claim it does.)
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tj
In addition, be aware that one way that TRS collects on bounced checks is to resubmit them as ACH charges. If they obtained your account number (either due to a typo, or perhaps from your credit report or if some forger used your account number even without your name), even if you did not write the check at issue, they will often try to slip through such an ACH charge, probably along with an approx. $30 "collection fee".
Their authorization for such an ACH charge would be the original bounced check, but if you didn't write the check at issue, even if they have your account number, then they do not have authorization for the ACH charge. Dispute it through your bank as fraudulent.
You may also need to request a copy of your Telecheck file, to dispute any erroneous negative information they may have placed in connection with such a misidentified or forged check. Telecheck is a national credit reporting agency (as defined by FCRA), and associated with TRS. As such, they must provide consumers with copies of their credit file and handle disputes in accordance with FCRA/FACTA.
Negative information on a Telecheck or Chexsystems file can block your ability to use checks for retail purchases, and may interfere with your ability to open accounts with many banks, so it is best to promptly address erroneous information reported by such systems. (It will probably have no effect on your ability to pay bills with checks.)
Comments
If you haven't bounced a check, there may be someone with a similar name who has. They may think you are them. Or someone may have forged a check, with your name, or your account number.
They have a history of complaints of contacting the wrong people.
It is illegal for them to call without disclosing their identity on request. In addition, they are required to disclose that they are attempting to collect a debt. It is also illegal for them to repeatedly call in order to harass.
Also, since they have now contacted you, presumably to collect a debt, they are required by FDCPA to send you a letter within 5 days notifying you of the alleged debt, and that if you don't dispute withing 30 days, they will assume it is valid. (That does NOT mean it becomes owed, although debt collectors often fraudulently claim it does.)
https://complaintwire.org/Complaint.aspx/txSjc0EXBgC-NwjM3TrZPA
Their authorization for such an ACH charge would be the original bounced check, but if you didn't write the check at issue, even if they have your account number, then they do not have authorization for the ACH charge. Dispute it through your bank as fraudulent.
You may also need to request a copy of your Telecheck file, to dispute any erroneous negative information they may have placed in connection with such a misidentified or forged check. Telecheck is a national credit reporting agency (as defined by FCRA), and associated with TRS. As such, they must provide consumers with copies of their credit file and handle disputes in accordance with FCRA/FACTA.
Negative information on a Telecheck or Chexsystems file can block your ability to use checks for retail purchases, and may interfere with your ability to open accounts with many banks, so it is best to promptly address erroneous information reported by such systems. (It will probably have no effect on your ability to pay bills with checks.)