debt collector
Today I had received a call from my family member stating that a debt collector had called her and told her I owed a debt for 1217.00 and they were going to arrest me at my work if I did not pay it today. Well, my mother called me and told me so I immediately called them . I did have a debt with fifth third bank in 2008 but I had thought it was resolved considering it was their fault for my account being overdrafted. I believe it was for 80.00 .. Anyways, they closed my account in 2008 and sold it , well the company they sold it to didn't ever try to contact me , well this company sells it to a company in NY On dec 2012. They contact me today and the first thing they said was that They were going to my work today and giving me a summons in court for an outstanding debt. I was scared. I've never been in trouble or debt and this was not/is not on my credit report. Well, I paid it because I was scared to go to court/ be arrested at my work. What should I do now?
You shouldn’t pay them
You shouldn’t pay them anything without a valid proof. At first you should ask them for a refund in writing via certified mail with a return receipt request. Debts are civil, not a criminal offense. So you can’t get arrested. Don’t worry, they are just trying to scare you. File a complaint against them to the SAG or FTC.
help
hi this morning a new debt collector called me,
ms barelson legal coordinator at creditors wanted to talk to me and settle the amount that i owe from a pdl and if i dont call back they will move forward and file 2 complaints against me at the county. on top of that they she will be charging me $300 extra for th processing fee and all that. she said she know my home and work address.
telephone number 8776604602 ? when she called it was blocked number and she didnt even specify what company was she from is this a scam and just trying to scare me so i can call them back ?
It's a red flag that they are
It's a red flag that they are a scam when they don't tell you who they work for. It's also a red flag when they pressure you into calling them by threatening legal action. Do some research on the phone number or whatever information you have on them. Put the phone number into a google search and see what you find out. I deal with this stuff all the time and I look up phone numbers to see if it is something I should pay attention to or not. Also, if you want, call them back and ask them for their company name and address. Don't give them any information on yourself. You're only wanting to find out contact info for them so that you can send them a debt validation letter.
Most importantly, when you get calls like this, step back and take a deep breath. Your first reaction is going to be panic, but that is what they want you to do. Take some time to research the people calling you and think it through and always invoke your rights under the FDCPA--even if you do owe a debt.