No one gets a heads up they'll be served - the process server just shows up, unannounced. Please do report your caller to the FTC, FBI and your state's Attorney General.
Consumers across the country report that they're getting telephone calls from people trying to collect on loans the consumers never received or on loans they did receive but for amounts they do not owe. Others are receiving calls from people seeking to recover on loans consumers received but where the creditors never authorized the callers to collect for them. So what's the story?
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, is warning consumers to be on the alert for scam artists posing as debt collectors. It may be hard to tell the difference between a legitimate debt collector and a fake one. Sometimes a fake collector may even have some of your personal information, like a bank account number. A caller may be a fake debt collector if he:
is seeking payment on a debt for a loan you do not recognize;
refuses to give you a mailing address or phone number;
asks you for personal financial or sensitive information; or
exerts high pressure to try to scare you into paying, such as threatening to have you arrested or to report you to a law enforcement agency.
If you think that a caller may be a fake debt collector:
Ask the caller for his name, company, street address, and telephone number. Tell the caller that you refuse to discuss any debt until you get a written "validation notice." The notice must include the amount of the debt, the name of the creditor you owe, and your rights under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
If a caller refuses to give you all of this information, do not pay! Paying a fake debt collector will not always make them go away. They may make up another debt to try to get more money from you.
Stop speaking with the caller. If you have the caller's address, send a letter demanding that the caller stop contacting you, and keep a copy for your files. By law, real debt collectors must stop calling you if you ask them to in writing.
Do not give the caller personal financial or other sensitive information. Never give out or confirm personal financial or other sensitive information like your bank account, credit card, or Social Security number unless you know whom you're dealing with. Scam artists, like fake debt collectors, can use your information to commit identity theft – charging your existing credit cards, opening new credit card, checking, or savings accounts, writing fraudulent checks, or taking out loans in your name.
Contact your creditor. If the debt is legitimate – but you think the collector may not be – contact your creditor about the calls. Share the information you have about the suspicious calls and find out who, if anyone, the creditor has authorized to collect the debt.
Report the call. Contact the FTC and your state Attorney General's office with information about suspicious callers. Many states have their own debt collection laws in addition to the federal FDCPA. Your Attorney General's office can help you determine your rights under your state's law.
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0258-fake-debt-collectors
The regulars here always encourage folks to pay legitimate bills that they owe to the person who actually owes the account. Just make sure to request validation in writing (via certified mail) that they legal own the debt. If so, it is up to the consumer to make sure to live up to their contractual arrangements.
This is a forum for unknown and scam calls. No one here can provide you with legal or financial planing advice. If you need legal advice please contact a local attorney and if you can't afford one you can always call a local "legal aid" or "law clinic" who can advise you on such matter free of charge
Ok, because now you have me scared. The loan that these people were referring to I did definitely take out. Should I not pay them now? The Elspeth above said that if people say these things then they are "fake" debt collectors. I don't know how they would have the information on a loan I took out if they are "fake" but I don't want to pay them if I shouldn't.
Please let me know. I'm supposed to be calling them back. What do you guys do for a living? Are you attorneys or anything? I just want to know where you get this info and where you found this post from because I would like to know what gives you credibility over this company that knows exactly when I last paid on this and how much I owe now. I told them I'd be calling them back momentarily and would like some sort of response please!