No county clerk or government entity has anything to do with personal debt disputes, unless there is n active court case and that's between the attorneys, their clients and the judge. Debt collectors have nothing to do with any government agency except to be regulated by the state they are in--provided they are legal debt collectors and not scammers.
"Hartman will be actively pursuing you at your place of employment and your residence. You do have the legal right to resolve this case with the plaintiff outside of court. Please understand that once you were located you do forfeit that right. You can contact our legal department at 412-346-1399. Refer to your case number 248252."
No county clerk or government entity has anything to do with personal debt disputes, unless there is n active court case and that's between the attorneys, their clients and the judge. Debt collectors have nothing to do with any government agency except to be regulated by the state they are in--provided they are legal debt collectors and not scammers.
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0149-debt-collection (Threatening criminal prosecution in order to collect a civil debt is a clear violation of the Federal Fair Debt. Debt collectors don't have anything to do with county clerks, or nonexistent things like "Pre-charge authorization " or other legalistic mumbo-jumbo.) This is just an attempt to scare you into paying them something.
Also contact your local attorney general
If they continue to bother you, and you know you do not owe any money, tell them that you know this is a debt scam and that you are making a complaint to the police for extortion. You might have to yell at the scammer and talk over him or her. Once you get a copy of the police report and they call you again , just read out the file number and the name of the PD or Sheriff’s office involved. Tell them you’ll be glad to send a copy to them at whatever address the jack***es are working out of now. If you can find them.
ID themselves as "Pre-Trial Services" which is scammer double talk for debt collector. They use this term as if they were somehow magically going to take you to trial. Debt collectors are generally not licensed attorneys and they cannot deal with the courts at all. This is total clap-trap. They are just trying to scare you.
Just because a voice on the telephone claims you owe a debt does not mean you owe it
If a voice on the telephone claims you owe a debt:
1. Demand the person give you his or her name, company name, and address
2. Demand a debt validation letter by US mail. E-mail no good.
3. Do not pay the collection agent or anyone else a DIME until the debt is validated.
Of course they won’t do this, no scammer ever will, so simply block their calls and ignore them.
If they continue to bother you, and you know you do not owe any money, tell them that you know this is a debt scam and that you are making a complaint to the police for extortion. You might have to yell at the scammer and talk over him or her. Once you get a copy of the police report and they call you again , just read out the file number and the name of the PD or Sheriff’s office involved. Tell them you’ll be glad to send a copy to them at whatever address the jack***es are working out of now. If you can find them.