Another Asset Acceptance Story

About a month ago, I received a letter from Asset Acceptance stating that "In an effort to liquidate as many files as possible, we are making the following settlement offer:". They had calculated a 45% discount if voluntarily paid by July 8. At first I didn't know what to make of this letter, as the balance in question was double that of even my largest credit card balance. However, the amount was very close to my Student Loan Balance, so I wondered if it had something to do with that. So I called the number on the letter. Mistake #1.

Upon reaching their office, I confirmed my name and address. Mistake #2. I was put on hold for some time. I normally win't sit on hold for long but, as I was at work, I put the phone on speaker and continued working. Something wasn't sitting right, so I resolved to not give any further info until I figured out what was going on. Then the call dropped.

I called back. Now I was sure something wasn't right, but I needed to find out what why I was being contacted. If this was an honset mistake, I wanted it resolved. This time I was put through to Greg McPherson, who told me "I just called you and left a message." Hmmmm... Sure enough, while I'd been on hold, he had called my work number, which I had not given anyone. As I talked to Greg he told me he was trying to collect an outstanding balance. I told him I didn't know anything about it. I've never left a bill unpaid. He was polite. Said he showed payments up until Feb. '95 and that if someone were committing fraud, they probably wouldn't have made payments. I told him I still didn't know what this was. He said he would send a validation letter.

I got a letter about a week later with barely any more info than the first. The box where my SS# should be is blank. I started thinking the creditor's name was similar to an old credit card I'd had once where I transerred the balance. Again, I've never left a debt unpaid. However, I wasn't about to volunteer that info. I'm not even certain that's what it is.

Now here's where this rather long post gets fun. This morning my home phone rang. I don't have caller ID and about the only people who call it are solicitors. However, I was expecting a call from the East Coast this morning. So, when someone asked "Is this Mark?", half-asleep I said "Yes". It was Greg McPherson. He asked if I got the letter. I said I had and I still didn't know what it was about. He said it was for a debt I owed. I said I wasn't sure that was the case but we could discuss it via mail. At this point he got agitated and we were talking over each other. He said he would put together documents to send me and kept asking if I was refusing to pay. I told him again "I don't even know what this is and I'll mail you a response, I didn't authorize you to call my work or my home." He said "I'm going to keep calling! You owe this money!" That's when I hung up on him.

Fun, huh? I'm going to copy one of the fine letters I've seen here and see what happens. I know I don't owe this money to anyone. Mr. McPherson is already aware the debt is from '95, so even if it is something I was connected with, he should know that the debt is past the SOL. I would have been in Florida at that time and now reside in California.

Thanks for reading!

Mark