Fraudulent Verizon Bill

ComplaintsCollection AgenciesAfni, Inc.

Complaint

0
Larry F.
Country: United States
I received a letter from Afni Inc. claiming I have an unpaid bill from Verizon from 1995. It's 12 years ago. I've been with Verizon for the past 7 years, and never missed a bill, and certainly was not their client 12 years ago.
The phone number listed on the notice is not familiar to me. I called Afni, and a recording told me to give them my credit card number to settle the debt, and would not give me a real person to talk to.
This bill also never appeared on my credit report. I seriously doubt It's my debt. I searched the internet and found many complaints on Afni. I strongly suspect that it might be a fraud, because I don't recognize any information they gave me about this bill.

Comments

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  • 0
    tj
    Also call the NY Attorney General.  Your "account" is alleged to be from a residence in NY, and the NY AG is reported to have opened an investigation of AFNI.
  • 0
    W.T.
    Verizon sold our information to Afni.  I received a collection notice in Jan stating that I owe $60 from 1999, I told them that I don’t recognize the number.. The rep mentioned that maybe someone opened an account under my name.... Which I know that's false.

    I decided to call Verizon and question them about this situation, and the collection dept told me that they can not give me any info since it's been so many years...She told me to call afni....


    So today I called Verzion's collections dept and the young man was rude, and he said that maybe someone opened an account under my name hmmmmmmm could it be that afni is their collection dept?  What is going on?
  • 0
    Suey
    I called and ask a verizon rep who's their collection dept and they told me that if we ask to speak to a collection rep they transfer you to afni, inc...... THEY sold our information to afni, inc.....
  • 0
    Luli
    OMG, I just called Verizon they are did sell our information to AFNI, INC.......... if you don't believe me call and ask a Verizon rep who's their collection dept.....
  • 0
    Diana
    A company called AFNI, Inc. P.O. Box 3472 in Bloomington, Il. 61702 is a third party collections company.

    They buy old worthless, incorrect and often out of statute of limitations debt portfolios.

    Recently, ANFI, Inc. sent out a second notice collection bill on an old phone account through Verizon California Inc. they said I owed in 2001. Note I never received a first notice.
    It struck me funny that they reaged the debt to 2005, which is against the law also.
    They offered to settle for half of what they said I owed, about $45.00.

    Dumbfounded I knew I never had any account of any kind with Verizon, so I called Verizon Cal. Inc. on Feb. 26, 2008, and spoke to Eric. He looked in his data base for my name, SS# and the phone number. He said there was nothing about me in any of their files. He also said the phone number wasn't even a Verizon number.

    So I did a phone number search at my own expense and found out what I already Knew, it was not mine.

    I checked my credit reports and found in violation of the Fair Debt Reporting Act they also placed this bill on my consumer’s credit reports without ever notifying me and they reageded it to 2005.

    I checked other web sites and found out a lot about AFNI, Inc. scamming people, not just a few but hundreds.

    I then disputed the bill by Cert.Letters with return recipts. Also I filed with my state’s Attorney General and the IL. A.G., the FTC, and the BBB. The IL. BBB says that AFNI, INC. says it is my bill from 2001, but they have not validated it to me per my letters as required by law. Even if it were mine, it is out of SOL in California as it is over 6 years old, and not mine. I am not sending them one red cent and will sue them if they continue to report this on my CR or sell this worthless paper to another debt agency.

    I have heard to NEVER, NEVER call AFNI, Inc., as they will capture your phone number and start calling and harassing you; AND NEVER give them your Information as they will use anything against you.

    I am contacting the media to add my story to hundreds of others that AFNI, Inc. is trying to scam.

    For More Information on the AFNI, Inc. scam check BudHibbs.com or simply type in consumer complaints AFNI, Inc. into your search the web box. There are hundreds of complaints against these scam artists.
  • 0
    Fabi
    BECAREFUL WHEN YOU CALL VERIZON, WHEN YOU CALL TO SPEAK WITH VERIZON'S COLLECTIONS DEPT THEY TRANSFER YOU TO AFNI, INC......


    I AM CANCELLING MY VERIZON ACCOUNT.. If you also have verizon you might want to think about doing the same. Thanks to verizon now strangers/scammers at afni, inc have our information. If you ask an afni, inc for their last name they'll tell you that they can not give you that information mean while they have our info and ss# thanks to verizon.

    Let people know how verizon sold our information to afni,inc. they are scammers afni, inc is now givin my phone number to other telemarketing company/scammer .. I am in the do not call list and I have never received any unwanted calls but now after afni, inc guess what my phone doesn’t stop ringing by scammer… I have googled the numbers that are calling me and they are scams….

    Verizon should also get sued for selling our info to a company that’s into scam afni, inc has a bad name. They have the worst collection dept, rude unprofessional workers that are trying to make money off of people that don’t even owe money for unpaid bills way past the SOL….
  • 0
    Aincscks
    How many addresses does AFNI, INC have to type in their stupid collection letters? These people are nuts...... DO NOT PAY THEM A PENNY......

    Here are some po box address that they have......


    Afni, Inc PO BOX 3427 BLOOMINGTON, IL 61702-3427
    Afni, Inc 404 BROCK DRIVE BLOOMINGTON, IL 61702-3427
    Afni, Inc po box 20939 ferndale, mi 48220
    Departmen 555 PO BOX 4115 CONCORD, CA 94524
    to file a complaint with the BBB in IL here is the zip code 61602


    I have file complaints with everyone and their mother, ftc, ag in my state, ag IL, bbb IL, the list goes on... I'm in process of making a police report..... I'm also going to report them to the local news stations, if I could I will call a few states and report them there too.... EVERYONE HERE DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO STOP THIS AFNI, INC BS...

    and as per the FDCPA I'm going to do what it takes to sue them because I sent Afni,inc a cert dispute letter and it was signed by one of Afni's agents and they have not replied back via mail and they keep calling my house...... everytime AFNI, INC contacts you after you and you have already sent them a dispute letter you might be able to sue them $1000 for evertime day contact you, and if I could sue verizon for selling my information to these scammers I am going to... so keep calling me AFNI, INC $I want $1000 for each call you make to my house......

    VERIZON SCKS TOO.... VERIZON IS A MOLE!!!!!
  • 0
    Saoy
    you all might want to read this article.... afni, inc has hired inmates, so the people that have our personal information are jail mates .... Read the article below

    http://peoriapundit.com/blogpeoria/2006/07/21 ... th-us-for-jobs/
  • 0
    fed up
    We too are being sent bills for a Verizon land line, that was disconnected in May of 2006. I distinctely remember calling Verizon, telling them to disconnect my service immmediately and asked what the complete bill would be. I then paid that amount on line. I have not heard anything about this until recently and from Afri, saying they would accept half payment of what I owe. I called Verizon and was told "the number no longer had an account accosiated with it'. Of course I could not talk to a real person, they don't exist, apperently. Help!!! How do I get this removed from my credit account, and I refuse to pay it. Fed Up!
  • 0
    Ginger
    I found this information on budhibbs.com....



    AFNI, Inc.
    fka/Anderson Financial Network, Inc.
    404 Brock Drive
    Bloomington, IL 61701
    Phone: 866-633-4384

    309-828-5226

    800-767-2364 or 888-338-2364
    Fax: 877-435-8073 (309) 828-0931

    309-663-4510

    309-829-2682

    Web Address: www.afnicollections.com

    Head Debt Collectors:
    Bruce F. Griffin
    Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
    President Ronald L. Greene
    Vice President Gregory J. Donovan
    Secretary Gregory J. Donovan
    Treasurer V. Curtis Oyer
  • 0
    lawgal_08
    Big surprise, I have been contacted by AFNI as well! My bill was 1500.00 from 1998 with Verizon. I know the statute of limitations has ran out. I went to the BBB and was shocked to see that this company is in "good standing" regardless of the 1184 complaints in the last 36 months! Oh well, I am  not paying this. I did call them before I researched the company online and told them to "take me to court if they felt it necessary". I haven't heard from them since. I now have to check  my credit report because it never occured to me something this old could possibly now be on there. Furthermore, I just recently obtained a verizon cell phone in my name with no problem so if I owed 1500.00 I believe I would have been denied. Please keep posting everyone especially if anyone is planning on taking legal action as a group. I would love to see this agency shut down! I am so sorry to those of you who have been damaged with credit, I just started building mine and am now worried as well!
  • 0
    Sour Apple
    I've also had to deal with Afni, Inc.  What you have to do is send Afni, Inc a dispute letter and if Afni, Inc ignores the dispute letter the best thing to do is call the Attorney General Office in your state, tell them the situation and let them know that Afni, Inc. is harassing you, and you'd like them to please stop harassing you. The Attorney General Office in my state contacted Afni, Inc and a week later I received a letter from the Attorney General Office stating that my complaint has been settled. They also attached a fax letter from Afni, Inc. stating that they have closed the underlying account and will cease collections on the same. I do advice you to contact the Attorney General Office in your state, and ask them if they could please contact Afni, Inc. regarding this matter.

    I hope this will work for you as it did for me...


    DIspute letter below...








    Afni, Inc month/date/year
    404 Brock Drive
    Bloomington, IL 61701

    PO Box 3427
    Bloomington, IL 61702-3427

    1 888 257 1585
    Fax 309 820 2614
    www.afnicollections.com


    My name is _____________ and I dispute the validity of the debt on the Afni, Inc Account # 0000000. I received a collection notice on 00/00/0000 which states that I owe AT&T $00.00 for an unpaid bill, and I believe that I do not owe this dept.

    This will serve as your legal notice under provisions of federal law, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), to cease all communication with me in regard to the debt referenced above. If you fail to heed this notice, I will file a formal complaint against you with the Federal Trade Commission who is responsible for enforcement, the States Attorney General office and/or the American Collectors Association or local State Bar Association.

    You are also notified that should any adverse information be placed against my/our credit reports as a result of this notice that appropriate actions will be taken. Give this very important matter the attention it deserves.



    Sincerely,
    Type name here


    Certified Mail # ________________________________________________________
    Date 00/00/0000

    Notice: This is an attempt to make a debt collector obey the law. Any information obtained will be used for that purpose.

    Cc: Federal Trade Commission
    Cc: Texas Attorney General
  • 0
    Mad
    I just Googled Afni because I received a similar letter only my supposedly original creditor was CINGULAR.  I have never had a contract with CINGULAR, do not owe them a delinquent amount, and never received an invoice or notice from the company indicating that I do.  This letter from Afni is out of nowhere.  I am writing a letter to Ifni denying this claim, sending a copy to all three credit report companies,and demanding any type proof they claim to have from CINGULAR on this indebtedness. I am mad I am required to deal with this in order to keep my credit good.
  • 0
    Meesh
    I checked my credit report tonight to find that AFNI was on all three of credit reports. The report showed a $210 bill with Verizon from 1/2001, which was 7 yrs ago. I do not recall having an account with Verizon. I am currently going through the home buying processss. I admit that in college (1998), I messsed up. However, I've worked my ass off to make my median score over a 650. Now that AFNI is on my report, my credit score dropped to the high 500's. I'm concerned. I have not participated in any bad debt since my college years. I have two questions, Can an agency really put something on your account from 7 yrs ago? and Can an agency lower your score by over 80 points. I'm glad I've googled this agency. To bad it is the weekend because I would call and curse them out!
  • 0
    Lilo
    Meesh do not call them they have caller ID and they will harras you.  Trust me, if they sent you a collection notice by mail means that they didn't have your phone numbers.  Do not call even if you press*67  to block your number they will still see your number.  That was my mistake, I called them and they called me every day and they will aslo give your number to other collection agencies.

    Send them a cert mail dispute letter...
  • 0
    tj
    If your account originally went delinquent in 1998, then since it is illegal to report it more than 7 years after that date, it would be illegal to put that account on your reports now.  The 2001 date may be erroneous.  

    Alternatively, this alleged debt may be a totally different account, even someone else's debt.

    Either way, it has no business being reported on your credit reports.  If you are trying to buy a home, then placing erroneous or re-aged old account information on your credit reports can cause substantial damages, causing you to pay higher interest rates, or preventing your purchase of a home.

    You need to send a letter disputing and requesting validation of the debt immediately, sent certified return receipt requested.  

    You also need to dispute the erroneous negative account information on your three credit reports.  AFNI has no liability for their reporting errors until you have disputed directly with the credit bureaus and AFNI has erroneously "verified" the information.  DO NOT LEAVE THIS STEP OUT!

    Start documenting the damages, get letters from your lender or broker indicating that this debt is blocking the purchase, or affecting the terms, etc.

    Contact a consumer protection attorney immediately, as this is the type of case that is actually worth taking on contingency.  The faster you move, the sooner you limit the damage and make them pay for their actions.  A good attorney can make sure you don't let them off the hook.
  • 0
    Scott Parks
    So, were you inventive and what did you ultimately do about AFNI? I had the same experience and am trying to find out if I have any recourse.
  • 0
    Spicy popcorn
    Recently I checked my credit history for the first time and found out that Afni, Inc., has reported the credit item on my report which does not belong to me. I had disputed through Experian but they wouldn’t delete it from my report because Afni doesn’t approve it. I called to Afni and they agree that the person is not me but then they told me to write a dispute letter with copy of SS#, Driver license, credit report and bank statement. I strongly feel unsecured about sending copy of all my private information after reading all the complaints.

    Credit Bureau wouldn’t do anything if Afni doesn’t confirm it. Is there anyway I should be handling it? Any advice??
  • 0
    tj
    Contact the Illinois Attorney General.  Tell them AFNI has admitted they are billing you in error, but has "verified" in response to your credit reporting agency dispute, and is refusing to remove their erroneous information from your credit reports.

    They have opened an investigation into AFNI's activities.
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