Same thing here. The guy I spoke to was an absolute jerk and said this debt was from just a couple of years ago but I haven't gone by that name since 2001!
Just got a call from this number a very rude woman who left me a message , called me by my married name 25 years ago""
no longer; some bogus company wanting to get collection from past past years. no i did not save my receipts from whatever they say i owe so Don't Answer Block It''..
I just got a call from this number. This is the first time I'm hearing from this company. The guy barely said what his name was and I had to listen to the message twice. He said he's from CRA, gave a reference number, and asked that I or whomever my legal representative was to contact his office. From experience, I know that calls like this have lead to no good.
I recall a telephone call I received January 2009 when I was in the hospital after having surgery, this lady called me from some office and I told her I couldn't do nothing at that moment because I was recovering from surgery and that I'd have to call them back after I returned home, and she said that she was going to note my account that I was refusing to pay. Um, that's not what I told her. I said I was in the hospital, just had surgery and would be home in a couple of days, that I would call their office then. Then she proceeded to accuse me of things I didn't do. At that point I gave her a few choice words and just hung up on her. That office never called me back.
Collectors like to play these little game with no regard for the law or respect of others.
I can tell you from research that once the statutes of limitations have passed on accounts for the state of California, see below, it is supposed to be illegal for debt collectors to try to collect and/or sue you for time-barred accounts -- accounts that have reached their statutes of limitations.
Oral Contract: 2 years
Written Contract: 4 years
Promissory Note: 4 years
Open-Ended Accounts: 4 years
This link may shed some light on California state law on statutes of limitations, http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode ... &file=335-349.4. Go to http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/c ... ations-1282.php to check the statutes of limitations for your state.
If you are sued and you can show proof that the account you are being sued for that the SOL have expired, it is likely the case will be dropped. Keep all your records. However, if you talk to a collector regarding an account that has expired beyond the SOL, and you agree to any payment arrangement you have renewed the SOL and the collection process starts all over again. I have accounts that have reached their SOL starting from the first day I was delinquent. Although I paid off many of them, when financial issues became a burden I just wasn't able to pay the rest.
Accounts get passed from one collector to another whether expired or not; some reputible companies while others are as shady as two left shoes. If you are opting to respond to a creditor, know your rights as a debtor. If they don't right away verify who they are and who they are representing and the account in question, you have the right to request that information in writing. If they do not provide that information or if they refuse to do so, then you have the right to contact the original creditor to verify who the account was transfered to in order to prevent a monetary loss like I did in 2005. Or you can see if you can make arrangements to pay the original creditor directly.
If they are calling your job and your home at all hours of the day and night, and are making threats towards you, that's considered harassment. You have the right to send a registered letter asking them to stop. If they choose not do so, you have the right to report them to the Attorney's General Office. But know your rights as a debtor.
After trying to call back and never speaking with a real person, I looked this number up and saw that others have received calls as well with the same "rude" tone and very threatening sounding. Personally, I do not have any outstanding debt and believe he has me mistaken with another by the same name.