First National Collection Scam Letter?

I am sure someone else can give you more detailed advice than I can. IN the meantime, however, if it were me, I would call them back and maybe ask a few more questions, because it does seem kind of odd that they would be so quick to dismiss something. Maybe you (instead of your husband) could call and act like you didn't know he called and see if you get a different answer and then maybe do some more questioning.

I wouldnt let it slide. I would check your credit to see if theyve been snooping around for information. I would aslo call them back and ask for written proof that they are not going to try to scam you again.

I know a lot about First National, I work there. It is not a scam, just an old account. If I am not mistaken, the Samuels account may be an account through wfnnb, a store credit provider (I am not at the office but I believe that is the association). Unfortunately the older debts slip the mind and the stores don't sound very familiar several years later. This makes it seem like a strange debt that popped up out of the blue or was contrived and completely made up. There are a few possibilites-- one is that it is a debt that just has been forgotten; another is that it actually belongs to another person with the same name as you, or your husband in this case, and the correct party has not been located; finally, it could be a situation where it was paid long ago and the creditor did not credit the account properly. It would seem to me that in this instance, the correct party was not located. This is why the representative so quickly handled the account and it seemed odd...they aren't going to argue in a case where you, or your husband, seem to not be the right party responsible. Although you might expect a little more push back and not such a rapid result, not all agencies put up their dukes and look for a fight.

These circumstances do happen and it is not a malicious attempt to collect. There is so much debt in the U.S. that it simply is not necessary for any collection agency to "make up" accounts or run a scam. There are unscrupulous companies out there, don't get me wrong, but FNCB is not one of those. I may be somewhat biased, and I admit that, but we are assigned accounts that our clients feel are valid. I would hope that you had a good phone experience, but perhaps the rep could have better explained that FNCB had the wrong person and that she was removing the address; also, verification of the last four of the social security helps as well. Creditors report to the credit bureaus using the social and if it is not your husband's social, then there is no further concern. If it is his social and still there is a doubt that the debt is valid, then it would be prudent to look into it more deeply. It may be an account that slipped the mind or an account that is an ID fraud matter, which you would certainly want to know more about to check on it further.

FNCB does not report to the credit bureaus so "guest" has made a comment that is simply invalid in this case. We neither snoop around nor do we scam.

Lorri, however, has given a good note of advice by suggesting that you call again. The answer should be consistent with your husband's experience, and I think you would want to consider the social security verification. I have to suggest that it could be a valid debt that simply slipped the mind-- this happens much more often than you can imagine. It is common that a debt pops up later when the memory seems to be that it was paid long ago. It is not the result of a scam, but that is such an easy word to throw at it since it is a collection agency.

Not all collection agencies fit the standard mold that seems to have developed in people's mind. We do try to be different from that typical mold and I would like to think that we do treat people fairly and with respect. It is not an industry of bad bad people with devil horns, greedy green eyes and maniacal laughter. You would be surprised that many agencies become involved in their communities and charitable organizations and actually consider themselves to be helping people resolve their debt issues by making mutually beneficial payment agreements. The notion of the "scam" is so bothersome and is just applied too often as a blanket statement.

I did not intend such a lengthy answer or practically a dissertation on the matter, but I wanted to give the same answer as I would on the phone and hope that this helps others in a similar situation.

I will check this site from time to time and if you need any additional intervention, I will gladly assist you.

It is refreshing to see a collector post here that is willing and able to explain their viewpoint in such a simple concise manner. You are more than welcome to post here. I am a little biased on collectors myself,but if your agency follows the law to the letter,than I will listen to what you have to say.

I have been involved in the collection industry for over 15 years, and I started as a bill collector myself. I worked at a few agencies, then went and worked on the creditor side, and then back to agencies. This has helped me to learn the creditor/lender side along with the agency side of collections, so I have a global view of collections. Before joining FNCB, I was with a credit card company and involved in placing accounts to collection agencies. I managed the agency performance and analyzed data, but also held them to a standard of following the law as we did not want to be legally exposed as a bank. I have kept this insistance, and really we have carefully implemented procedures to see that we follow the law closely, which of course serves to protect the consumer and the agency.

I know that collectors are considered a lower life form and we really are stereotyped (see Bud Hibbs' website), but at FNCB we do try to be genuine and different. Our business plan incorporates a large amount of account volume, so if we run into a situation of dispute, ID theft or cease and desist for any reason, we don't need to circumvent the law-- we have plenty of accounts to move onto and work on collecting. At the risk of sounding hokey, we actually train and use terminology such as "help the consumer" rather than "collect from" the consumer, and when in a difficult situation, we will end the matter as simply as possible so as to minimize our risk and that of our clients; we won't hound the situation to make it worse, and we do not condone the ego standoff when a collector and consumer are getting into it and it rages on and on. In fact, the president of the company addressed the collection staff this week about the importance of mutual respect. For the most part, we are successful in this approach. Are there exceptions, sure. It will sometimes happen. But those types don't last long at our company. We are by no means perfect, but I do think we try a little harder.

One tidbit that I would like to throw out there, and I think it does have an effect on collectors as a whole, is that there are some amazingly abusive consumers. Now, of course when someone is trying to get money from someone, tensions tend to rise as money is the hardest thing to give to another person. This NEVER condones any negative reaction on the part of a collector, but my point is that collectors receive more verbal abuse than can be imagined and is certainly never talked about. In my collection days, I was called the most creative names, hyphenated names that would impress me very much. Unfortunately, my wife and children would be sucked up into the conversation and they would be referred to very nastily. The law protects consumers from abusive treatment, but nothing protects the collector. This tends to harden collectors a bit over time, and then we see some stronger-handed responses from them as they have become more versed and quick witted in their own defenses. We purposely watch our veteran collectors very closely for this very reason.

Bud Hibbs, a well-respected consumer advocate who really has taken to war against the collection industry, would profile a collector in a most ridiculous fashion. A drug user who can't get a job...a bottom feeding scum sucker....divorced....mostly men with no self confidence.

Funny...most of our employees are women and most that I see in the industry are women. I have never used a drug, I don't drink, have been married for over 17 years, and I have 5 children. I am the antithesis of a collector, according to Bud Hibbs. Our entire management staff is married and have children.

My point here is that I did a search this week on our company, found this website (and we are on a few pages), and felt compelled to get involved. If I can help on behalf of FNCB in any way, or if there are any collection related questions, I am happy to help. I would like to see more cooperation bridged between collections and consumers, and in this case with a debt management/assistance type of business as is the one sponsering this website.

Actually Bill T we are a independant site that companies would receive leads on if our members are in need of those programs. Take a look in our debt settlement/cons. board.It discusses these companies good and bad points among other things.

Just want to say that as a former employee of fncb , i too will say that this organization has to be the best ou there. This company has always conducted their collections in a fare and respectable manor. I do however now work for another collections agency that is a ruthless collection company. I would give anything to be back in the employement of fncb. If not that i made a move to another city, i would still be there. Do not be afraid to clear credit with this great group of people, you could have worse...
To my former employers & all the great people i worked with there, you are all missed..... Tucker

while I appreciate the comments of the two people that were employed by this company, the fact that the collector hung up so quickly like that has me concerned. That is neither standard practice, nor is it proper. Such behavior does not show that the collector who placed this phone call followed the fdcpa at all. The debt collector is required by law to provide more information than just that, to identify that this is an attempt to collect a debt, etc etc etc, and from the sound of it, a lot was skipped on that call. The collector did not find any information out, did not get any closer to a solution, and my guess is, based on my experience, that this account will now have some sort of comment placed on it that "the debtor refused to cooperate".

To jamesandjill--I would suggest contacting that company back and demanding proper validation, as required by FDCPA. They are required by law to provide to you documentation that shows the origin of the debt, as well as documentation of their right to collect on that debt. Within five days of that initial contact, they are also required by law to notify you of your right to dispute the debt. If you can get an address for the company, then I recommend sending them a letter by certified mail, stating that you dispute the validity of this debt, and asking for the validation that federal law requires them to provide to you. Whatever you do, do NOT under any circumstances send them money.