MetaChat - Under what circumstances

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28 December 2007

Under what circumstances can a collection agency refuse to identify the creditor whom they represent? →[More:] I am receiving calls from people who claim to work for a collection agency. They want to verify personal information about me, but I refuse to acknowledge anything beyond my name. The address they give is years old, pre-bankruptcy old.

I suspect this is a scam, and so I have written to the agency's compliance department requesting proof of a debt. With all the loopholes in debtors' rights, perhaps this may actually be a legitimate attempt to collect, although I do not know who the mysterious creditor could be.

Any thoughts on the matter? Given my circumstances, a lawyer is financially infeasible.

post by: mischief at: 17:29 | 11 comments

Totally sounds like a scam. Your state will have a Consumer Affairs office as part of the Attorney General's office. Call them.

posted by theora55 28 December | 17:47

Even if it's legal, I can't imagine why a debt collector would want to keep that a mystery. Smells scammy to me.

posted by deadcowdan 28 December | 17:53

I plan to call them if the agency's corporate office says they do not have anything on me.

After I posted this, I realized that a doctor's office may be behind this, and that the agency cannot identify their client for medical privacy reasons. Every visit to a hospital nowadays results in multiple and separate billings, so maybe someone fell through the cracks.

It still seems really weird though.

posted by mischief 28 December | 17:56

I don't know the exact answer to your question, but here's a link to the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act, if it's helpful. Good luck.

posted by Lassie 28 December | 18:32

'nother vote for scammy scam.

posted by chewatadistance 28 December | 18:39

It still seems fishy, or at least unprofessional. If you call your doctor's office and they're not behind it I would go right to looking at the FTC info and see what rights you have.

posted by Slack-a-gogo 28 December | 18:40

I vote scam. I've gotten calls about debt to doctors or labs, and they always identify the group - usually these days the billing 'department' is a billing company, so what they have is a reference number for the visit and the patient name.

posted by lysdexic 29 December | 00:13

Doesn't it seem possibly worrying that this is happening just as your SS benefits have come through? Perhaps there are scammers (or even regular agencies) who monitor court decisions for anything that results in a financial settlement.

Either way, you are obviously wise to tread carefully.

posted by taz 29 December | 00:26

Yes, I have been eyeballing that particular coincidence as well, taz. Not that they could get much, the only thing I have is this laptop circa 2001. The letter went out today, so from now on I will hang up on them.

posted by mischief 29 December | 01:08

Think about it: How can a collection agency possibly have the balls to collect on a debt they refuse to identify?

I could call you tomorrow and state that you owe "my client" $123.45 and you better pay up OR ELSE IT GOES ON YOUR PERMANENT RECORD. But how could I possibly expect you to pay it if I couldn't tell you who the debt was originally with?

posted by Doohickie 29 December | 13:08

Doohickie, although I strongly suspect this is a scam, I also have a few hints that this could be legit. First, I know that at least three different people have called from this outfit. Second, Bush has signed bills that freed the interstate collection industry from various prohibitions, especially concerning charge-offs as well as the medical industry. Third, some people are dumb enough to fall for such a thing.

Anyway, it's a waiting game now.

posted by mischief 29 December | 14:23

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