As finances get tighter for many Cincinnati area families....debt collectors are working harder than ever at getting us to pay.
If you really owe the debt, thats one thing. But what if you are pretty sure that you dont?
Collection Call Even with Perfect CreditMichael Thorson was stunned earlier this year when he received this threatening message on his answering machine.
"This is Mr Neiman calling..." the message said. It sounded like a law firm was about to sue him.
"The County Clerk's office will be notified of refusal to cooperate," the message warned.
Michael says "it sounded like he's getting ready to file suit, and I need to call him back by a particular time."
But Thorson says he's never been late on any bill. So he investigated, and it turned out the call was from a
collection agency, not a law firm. There was no pending suit, just an empty threat.
Collection Calls at All Time High
A three month investigation by the
Scripps News Service -- part of our parent company, EW Scripps -- finds that collection calls are at an all time high in 2009.
What's worse, many of these calls are from what's known as
"zombie" debut collectors....who buy up old debts, that other companies have given up on.
Rosanne Anderson, of the
Association of Collection Professionals, which represents legitimate collectors, says "they package bad debts into portfolios,and they will sell these portfolios for pennies on the dollar."
The Association of Collection Professionals tells Scripps News these agencies sometimes go after the wrong person...or the wrong amount of money...or both...because, Rosanne says, its like a "game of telephone." By the time they call, you, they have all their information wrong.
Next: Collection Call? What to Do, What Not to Do
