Got a call, sounded legit. I started to pay my bill with a debit card until she asked the name on my card. If she didn't know my name, then it was a scam
I only hope that the "Maria Lopez" they have been calling me about for OVER A YEAR rots! This is NOT her phone number. If she ever had my phone number it was prior to 2001. I have REPEATEDLY told that to these fools and told them to STOP CALLING ME and they do - for about six months!
I don't think it's a legitimate debt collector. I think it's a scam. They call non-stop. They had my name, phone number & even the name of the bank that I have a credit card with. They call & tell me what my balance is & try to get me to pay it over the phone. The foreign guy that calls gets very agitated when I tell him that I will log in online & pay it.
A phone call, email or text message from a supposed debt collector is not legally sufficient evidence of debt.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) includes statements such as this:
* Every collector must send you a written “validation notice” telling you how much money you owe within five days after they first contact you. This notice also must include the name of the creditor to whom you owe the money, and how to proceed if you don’t think you owe the money. ["Written" means snailmailed ... not emailed or texted]
Therefore, if that caller wants you to pay immediately, before you get the written validation notice via snailmail, or if the caller wants payment via green dot, Western Union, or other untraceable means, then the call is definitely not legitimate.
IF you wish to communicate with the supposed collector / creditor, visit the following page, for example "Action Letters" to snailmail:
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/blog/debtcollection/
If you KNOW you owe no money, or believe the call was from a fake debt collector, please take the time to read this:
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0258-fake-debt-collectors