Andrea Powdloski informed me that I had written a bad check in 2009 (6 years ago) to Me N Ed's Pizza for $50, and I now owed $550, plus $800 in legal fees. I knew of the check because it had been stolen from my home, and I filed a police report at the time that the event occurred. Andrea knew my date of birth, my social security number, and all of the information from the check. The way that she was rambling on about nonsense made me suspicious of the call. She said that an investigation had been done, and there was no identity theft, and that it was MY signature on the check, so I was responsible. I asked how to prove that this was a fraudulent check, and she said, "If you have a police report, which I doubt, it needs to have been filed in 2009 and have the information from this specific check on it." I said that there would be no problem, and asked where to send the police report. She put me on hold for several minutes, and then came back with a fax number. Why did it take so long to get the fax number? I do not know. I asked if I needed to include a statement with the police report, and was told that a statement would be irrelevant, that I needed to provide a POLICE REPORT. I acknowledged that the police report needed to be sent, and asked if there was anything I should send over with it (perhaps a reference number, or explanation of why I was randomly faxing a police report). I was told no.
*The Kicker*
I planned on sending the police report with a letter about how poorly I had been treated on the phone, when I realized that I never got the name of the company. I called the phone number back, and Andrea answered the phone, "Bad Check Department, this is Andrea Powdlowski." I politely asked what the name of the company was that I was calling. She hung up on me. I called back and asked again what the name of the company was. She told me that it was Pendleton Group & Associates, then said that since I was asking so many questions, she needed to know what my name was. I replied that I had only asked one question. She asked angrily, "Is this [Jane Doe]?!" (I do not recall the name that she used). I told her that I was unfamiliar with that person, but I needed to send a fax, and I wasn't sure what the name of the company was that I was sending it to (not sure why she needed my name for that). She got very snippy and told me that it is a very LARGE corporation with offices in California, Texas, and New York, and that she could not help me without me giving her my name. Then, she stated that when I was ready to tell her my name, I could call back- she hung up on me again.
Clearly a scam. I believe that they dig up old returned checks and call people who they try to scare into paying them. I am sure that some people do get scared and pay, but I am not wasting my time on them anymore. If you're looking for a cheap thrill, call the number and ask what the name of the company is.