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I was recently talking to one of my relatives about debt collection companies. When you're in a lot of debt, you tend to have these conversations because you want to know how the other person is managing their debt in hopes of gleaning new debt management ideas.
My relative told me that she received a phone call from a debt collection company on an old jewelry bill. The person on the other end of the phone did not identify themselves nor did they read the standard debt collection company spiel that stated the call was an attempt to collect a debt and that any and all information received would be used to collect that debt. My relative was instantly on guard. To make matters more interesting, instead of asking her for the last four digits of her social security number, the caller told her what those numbers were.
Needless to say, she provided no information, got the name of the debt collection company and the name of the company that handled the original debt. Then, she ended the call and called both the debt collection agency via information she pulled off the collection agency website and the original company. The original debt holder could find no information on her debt in their records. The debt collection agency told her that they do not deal with jewelry debt. The caller was a scammer.
They Called You
The number one thing I always remember when a debt collection agency calls me is that I did not place the call. I have no idea who this is or if they're even affiliated with the company name they gave me. Therefore, I give them no information. I don't validate my social security number or my birth date. The only thing I tell them is that they are talking to the right person.
Write Everything Down
From the moment the call starts, I write down everything. I write down the name of the person I am talking to, the debt collection agency name, the amount of the debt, and the name of the original company that held the debt. This goes back to the fact that they called me. I didn't research this debt and call them to make a payment. Therefore, I want as much information as I can get about the debt so that I can research it once I get off the phone.
Don't Make An Over The Phone Payment
When the debt collection company calls me, I do not make an over the phone payment. There are two reasons for this. I want to validate that the company and debt in question are legit, and I do not under any circumstances want to hand out my credit or debit and information over the phone. Where applicable and assuming they already have my address, I have them mail me another bill. Again, I don't give them any information. In the case of an address, I just want to make sure it's an address where I can receive the bill not necessarily that it's my current address.
Get Off The Phone
Once I have all the information I need, I get off the phone. If that means hanging up on them, then I do. I figure the longer I'm on the phone, the more chances I have to give them information I didn't intend to give.
Make Phone Calls
Like my relative, as soon as I get off the phone I start making phone calls. I call the original debt holding company to verify the debt is real. I also verify the amount of the debt and the agency they sold the debt to. Then, I look up the collection agency name online and call them via the phone number on their website. I do not call the original caller back via the number they gave me. I verify that the person I talked to works for the company then I verify the debt account again. I also ask for an account number and payment address so that I can send the payment to them through my bank.
These steps allow me to both pay the debt and avoid debt collection scammers.
