They keep telling me that there is a claim against me for money owed. I've been getting these phone calls for the last 4 years. I'm in the process of buying a home and nothing negative is on my reports. This is a complete scam!
They are calling me to collect an old debt "for" a well know bank, from over 20 years ago. I advised them on several occasions that I worked out an agreement with the bank many years ago and paid it in full and that I have all of the paperwork to prove it. They have no interest in seeing the proof of payment and told me they will continue to file the complaint. I said fine I will see you in court. I have looked up GDS and they appear to be a scam. I asked the lady what GDS stands for and she didn't answer which is another red flag. I have received calls from this same lady under the name Mitigation as well and via many different telephone numbers. They do have my SS# and other information about me which I refused to confirm. Companies under various names have been calling me about this old account, which again, I paid off well over 15 years ago. Fine, if they are legit (which I do not believe they are) they can take me to court. I will sue them for harassing me over a debt that I paid off and they will end up owing me a debt. By the way, I asked them for a mailing address and they refused to give me one. Nuff said.
Your first problem is trying to convince them that you paid the debt. it is their responsibility to to prove to you that you owe the money and that they have the right to collect, not the other way around. So first, stop trying to prove anything to them, make them prove it to you. Second there is only one state that has a statute of limitations of 15 years. So by the fact that they are threatening to sue, that is in itself a violation of the law. What happened is that your name was sold to these criminals for pennies on a dollar by that bank.
Now read the rest of this post and realize that none of these so called "debt collectors" has probably done what they are also required to do by law automatically:
Federal law (FDCPA) requires them to send you a letter (US MAIL ONLY) within 5 days of their first contact that contains their name, physical address, the creditor’s name, and the amount of the alleged debt. It also must contains “mini-Miranda” telling you that it is an attempt to collect a debt and that all information will be used for those purposes. The one other important thing that this letter must also have in it is that you have a right to dispute the debt within 30 days of receipt of the letter and if you do so, all collection activity must be stopped until the debt is verified.
Read up on your rights here, get template letters to send and also make a complaint at this government site: http://www.consumerfinance.gov/
Also file a complaint with your State Attorney General's office.
List of State AG’s offices: http://consumerfraudreporting.org/stateattorneygenerallist.php
Thank you very much for this information! I see I have been playing right into their hands. They have not sent me a letter and I have been explaining too much to them. I am going to do the research as you suggested and be better armed next time they are able to reach me. I will definately file a complaint with the AG office. Your advice is very much appreciated.
i started receiving calls from this number 2 weeks, ago. it was for a Andre something, which is not me. I have had this phone number for 6 years and I still get calls for this guy. I guess he owes a lot of people a lot of money! I have left messages, no one answers the phone, no one calls back, they just continue to call