Help regarding a bill! Update in first post.

dabuddha

Lifer
Apr 10, 2000
19,579
17
81
Story:
I received a letter yesterday from a collection agency. They claim that Sprint has sent my account for collections for ~$33. I asked him when did this supposed account close and he tells me March of 2000. So of course I asked him why are they sending me a bill 3 years after the fact when I have never heard a peep from them. (For the record, back in 2000 I lived at home with my parents so it can't be a long distance bill since the phone lines in my dad's name. I've never used a phone card and my Sprint PCS account is closed and paid for from last October) I've been on the phone with Sprint for almost 2 hours now being passed from one CSR to another. No one can seem to find anything regarding this charge. I finally got ahold of someone from the billing dept and they tried to lookup the account with my old home number, my name, and my social security number. No go. I'm very reluctant to pay the collection agency because I never did rack up this charge. And I'm suspicious because the guy kept telling me the best thing to do is just pay it regardless if I owe the money or not. I told him I'd like to dispute it and his response was it'd have to go on my credit report. He said if I pay it, it won't go on my credit report. Is there any type of statute of limitations regarding this sort of thing? Any suggestions? It's not a lot of money but its the principle of the matter. It feels like extortion if you ask me. And it really sucks because I just paid off all of my credit card debt 2 months ago and now this crap.

Summary:
[*]Collection agency claims I owe money from March 2000
[*]Called Sprint and no one seems to know anything about it
[*]Collection agency tells me to pay or it'll go on my credit report

Update
Well equifax said they never received any response from Sprint Long Distance so they've removed the charge from my credit report. But now the other company, Afni Inc., has placed the charge on my credit report! I started an investigation on this as well. The CSR told me I have to contact Experian and TransUnion myself to dispute the Sprint charge. This is getting more and more difficult. And she told me Sprint can re-enter the charge anytime legally. WTF am I supposed to do about that.
 

FoBoT

No Lifer
Apr 30, 2001
63,089
12
76
fobot.com
send them a " drop dead" letter

it is probably a random attempt to extort money from you, with no basis

use the letter, the law says they have to prove you owe the money if you dispute it in writing within 30 days of notification, so write the letter and send it certified mail to the scum bags
 

chiwawa626

Lifer
Aug 15, 2000
12,013
0
0
Uh you might want to call a higher up in the bill collectors company and have them 3way sprint and see whats going on.
 

iwearnosox

Lifer
Oct 26, 2000
16,018
5
0
Originally posted by: chiwawa626
Uh you might want to call a higher up in the bill collectors company and have them 3way sprint and see whats going on.
<insert porno music here>

 

Ulfwald

Moderator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
May 27, 2000
8,646
0
76
1 request in writing a letter from Sprint that they have no record of this charge and also ask them to notify the collection agency.
2 Write the collection agency and tell them that you have no intention of paying this bill, especially since Sprint has no record of this charge what-so-ever.
3 Also inform the collection agency that you refuse to pay this bill, and if they continue to try and bully you into paying it. If they try and place this on your credit report, explain to them that you will file a lawsuit against them for defamation of character, and embarassament.
4 Pull your credit report from all 3 agencies and see if they do try and place this on your credit report, if they do, make sure You keep a copy of the letter from Sprint and forward it to the credit agencies and ask them to investigate it. once they have it straight, request another credit report.

Also let them know that extortion is against the law. "Pay it just so it doesn't go on your credit report." is just as bad as "Pay me the money or I will break your legs."
 

dabuddha

Lifer
Apr 10, 2000
19,579
17
81
Just got off the phone with the collection agency. They said they reported the debt to the credit buearus on Monday (bastards!) She said I can write in a letter stating all the facts and they will investigate the account. My question (which she was unable to answer) is if I were to pay the money right now, will I still be able to dispute the claim? My #1 concern right now is my credit history. But I still can't just let this slide.

EDIT: Also Jennifer Clark (Sprint) told me that they completely wipe out their records for any accounts older than 2 years (somewhat weird if you ask me) She was telling me this is probably why they can't pull up my records at Sprint. I'll contact sprint and request a letter to be sent out stating that they have no record of me in their system or of any debt owed by me.
 

CPA

Elite Member
Nov 19, 2001
30,322
4
0
Threaten back with a call to the Attorney General of your state.

These collection agencies are rediculous sometimes.
 

Ulfwald

Moderator Emeritus<br>Elite Member
May 27, 2000
8,646
0
76
Sprint has no record of the debt? Then you do not owe it.

Collection agency cannot provide proof of debt? You do not owe it.

Send them a letter requesting absolute proof that you owe the debt. Dispute it, and if they cannot provide evidence, then they must clear up your record. If they don't, then sue the crap out of them.
 

dabuddha

Lifer
Apr 10, 2000
19,579
17
81
Originally posted by: Ulfwald
Sprint has no record of the debt? Then you do not owe it.

Collection agency cannot provide proof of debt? You do not owe it.

Send them a letter requesting absolute proof that you owe the debt. Dispute it, and if they cannot provide evidence, then they must clear up your record. If they don't, then sue the crap out of them.

Sound's like a plan. I'll draft a letter tonight to them and send it via certified mail tomorrow. Should I contact the credit buearus as well requesting a dispute for the claim?

EDIT: also since they're based in IL, I'm assuming I need to contact the attorney general for IL and not VA (where I'm presently located)
 

FoBoT

No Lifer
Apr 30, 2001
63,089
12
76
fobot.com
Originally posted by: dabuddha
My question (which she was unable to answer) is if I were to pay the money right now, will I still be able to dispute the claim?

DON'T PAY!!! YOU WILL NEVER GET THE MONEY BACK!!!

IF YOU DON'T OWE THE MONEY/IT ISN'T YOUR DEBT, DON'T PAY IT!!!!!!!

see my previous post, they are probably lying about the credit thing to get you to pay, write the drop dead letter
 

dabuddha

Lifer
Apr 10, 2000
19,579
17
81
Originally posted by: FoBoT
Originally posted by: dabuddha
My question (which she was unable to answer) is if I were to pay the money right now, will I still be able to dispute the claim?

DON'T PAY!!! YOU WILL NEVER GET THE MONEY BACK!!!

IF YOU DON'T OWE THE MONEY/IT ISN'T YOUR DEBT, DON'T PAY IT!!!!!!!

see my previous post, they are probably lying about the credit thing to get you to pay, write the drop dead letter

Ok I'm not paying. I'll be drafting the letters tonight. BTW thanks everyone for the advice, I really appreciate it.
 

Hoober

Diamond Member
Feb 9, 2001
4,364
20
81
Originally posted by: dabuddha
Originally posted by: Ulfwald
Sprint has no record of the debt? Then you do not owe it.

Collection agency cannot provide proof of debt? You do not owe it.

Send them a letter requesting absolute proof that you owe the debt. Dispute it, and if they cannot provide evidence, then they must clear up your record. If they don't, then sue the crap out of them.

Sound's like a plan. I'll draft a letter tonight to them and send it via certified mail tomorrow. Should I contact the credit buearus as well requesting a dispute for the claim?

EDIT: also since they're based in IL, I'm assuming I need to contact the attorney general for IL and not VA (where I'm presently located)

Contact the AG of your state and let them know what's going on. They should have some suggestions and information.
 

dabuddha

Lifer
Apr 10, 2000
19,579
17
81
Originally posted by: Hoober
Originally posted by: dabuddha
Originally posted by: Ulfwald
Sprint has no record of the debt? Then you do not owe it.

Collection agency cannot provide proof of debt? You do not owe it.

Send them a letter requesting absolute proof that you owe the debt. Dispute it, and if they cannot provide evidence, then they must clear up your record. If they don't, then sue the crap out of them.

Sound's like a plan. I'll draft a letter tonight to them and send it via certified mail tomorrow. Should I contact the credit buearus as well requesting a dispute for the claim?

EDIT: also since they're based in IL, I'm assuming I need to contact the attorney general for IL and not VA (where I'm presently located)

Contact the AG of your state and let them know what's going on. They should have some suggestions and information.

Ok will do.
So I've got it down to:

[*]draft a letter telling them I will not be sending them any money because
  • Sprint has no record of this debt
  • Collection agency has no proof of this debt other than "telling me they got it from sprint"
[*]Also inform them in the letter that I will be informing the attorney general of VA (as well as anyone else the AG recommends to me)
[*]Also inform them that they will clear up any damage done by them on my credit report by XX number of days or I will take it to court

 

cyclistca

Platinum Member
Dec 5, 2000
2,886
11
81
That must be one F'ed up collection agency to come after you for 33 lousy bucks. Good luck.
 

slag

Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
10,473
81
101
This is going against popular opinion here, but sometimes its just easier to pay something like this than fight it.

Figure out what your time is worth to you. In my case, my time is worth more than 33 bucks/hour plus this hassle. It would be easier for me to enclose a check or money order for the amount "owed" with a letter stipulating that cashing of this check/money order would mean that all debts are paid in full and they request the bogus credit mark be taken off your credit report.

I mean, sure, you dont owe the money, but is it really worth it to you to fight something this trivial and waste your time and money rather than just pay it? I also believe in doing things for principal of the matter, but I also know what my time and money is worth me and this would be much easier to do and forget about.

Out of a good week, I get about 15-16 hours of time where I get to do what I want to do (After work and weekends). Aside from that, its kids, work, and wife. To me, this just isnt worth the hassle and time.
 

dabuddha

Lifer
Apr 10, 2000
19,579
17
81
Originally posted by: slag
This is going against popular opinion here, but sometimes its just easier to pay something like this than fight it.

Figure out what your time is worth to you. In my case, my time is worth more than 33 bucks/hour plus this hassle. It would be easier for me to enclose a check or money order for the amount "owed" with a letter stipulating that cashing of this check/money order would mean that all debts are paid in full and they request the bogus credit mark be taken off your credit report.

I mean, sure, you dont owe the money, but is it really worth it to you to fight something this trivial and waste your time and money rather than just pay it? I also believe in doing things for principal of the matter, but I also know what my time and money is worth me and this would be much easier to do and forget about.

Out of a good week, I get about 15-16 hours of time where I get to do what I want to do (After work and weekends). Aside from that, its kids, work, and wife. To me, this just isnt worth the hassle and time.

I completely agree with you on the time == money thing. And you are right but this came after years of clearing up my credit and it just came out of nowhere. This sort of crap just pisses me off and it would bother me if I just paid it off. I know its a bad attitude towards these sort of things but fighting this is the only way I can let it go. Even my mom offered to pay it off when I was telling her about it and I had to tell her it wasn't the money that was the problem.
 

dabuddha

Lifer
Apr 10, 2000
19,579
17
81
Originally posted by: DaCurryman
keep us updated as I'm very curious to know how this goes.

Definitely will.
BTW if anyone cares, here's the company's name/info

Afni, Inc.
404 Brock Dr.
P.O. Box 3427
Bloomington, IL 61702-3427
(866)633-4383

If anyone has a run in with this company, they can be more wary regarding them.
 

badluck

Diamond Member
Feb 19, 2001
5,357
0
76
Read the initial letter that you received from the collection agency (front and back). When you do, you will find out that by law you have 30 days to dispute the debt after your first notice. After that time, they can assume that you owe it and persue it by contacting you or reporting it to the credit bureau. You already know that you need to draft a letter of dispute. That will be your first step. Your second step would be to contact the credit bureaus. Sounds like you have done that. In your letter to them, you should state that you do not want any contact via telephone, and the collection agency is to only contact you via U.S. Mail. That is a right of yours, and will stop collectors from every calling you throughout this process. They cannot attempt to collect the debt (by calling you, mailing you) while you are disputing the debt.

Here is what they will / should do. Once you advise them you dispute the debt, they will need to provide you with proof that you owe the debt. If they cannot provide you with such information, they will close the account and send it back to the creditor (Sprint). At that time, Sprint will close the account, or keep it in house if they believe you still owe it.

The Fair Debt Collection Protection Act provides more information on your rights as an alleged debtor. Do a google search and do read their site. It should provide you with much more info that I can. You will be specifically interested in the section entitled: 809. Validation of debts [15 USC 1692g].
 

dabuddha

Lifer
Apr 10, 2000
19,579
17
81
Small update:
Contacting the attorney general for virginia was a waste. I've spoken to various people from their office and I'm told to fill out a complaint form and they'll get back to me. I went ahead and did that but it doesn't look like anything will get done by that. I'm trying to call the different credit bureaus to ask for advice/file a complaint and I'm having difficulty with that as well. One recording after another. I guess I'll request a credit report from equifax and then file a dispute with them to start off the process.
I'm going to call AFNI today and request that they mail me the details regarding this debt.