Don't pay them a dime. They buy debt and file thousands of lawsuits because the majority of people do not answer the complaints so they get can get an uncontested judgment. Once they get a judgment, they can garnish your wages. It is a number game for them.. the majority will not fight it. I was sued by them, I answered and asked them to prove the debt. They could not... We went to court, and they dropped the lawsuit because the judge asked them for prove. They bank on the fact that you will not show or answer. Do it!!!
Now I am suing them for harrassment so every time they call, I log it and every time I get a letter, I send it to my lawyers. Lawyers will take on your case because they can rack up lawyers fees and you get $1,000 judgment in your favor if they find that they broke FTC rules, which they do every day.
Answer the phone, get their name and extension and log it so that if you want to sue for harrassment, you got the info.
Do not pay them. They were reporting to the credit bureaus and I just contacted them and I had them delete that account. They cannot verify the debt because they buy thousands of debts everyday and it is basically just a list of names, ssns and amounts.
When I appeared to the pre-trial mediation (first step in county court where I live before it is sent to trial/judge), there were about 25 cases from these idiots and the majority of the people settled with them. Doesn't matter if you settle, they will still report you and harrass you so save your money!!!
Bye