I consistently (multiple times per week) receive calls from a Collection Agency called Asset Acceptance however I have good scores (high 700s) and no negative accounts in any of my 3 CRs. (I just pulled them again today to verify) I have yet to acknowledge them as the person they are looking for when they call but they are always very rude when they call. What recourse do I have? Should I talk to them? Is it legal for them to even call? I don't want to make it worse.
Have they asked for a certain person? Is it you? If they don't know who they're talking to, I wouldn't even answer the phone.
Just answer their call and ask them the question. It may well be someone in your family or a neighbor they are looking for and not you. You will never know unless you answer the phone and ask. Don't be afraid to EVER answer your phone. If it is you they are looking for, simply tell them that you don't pay people who call you up on the phone and if they think you owe them anything that you need to see it in writing by mail. If it is something you may owe, don't give them any information. Deny, deny, deny. Don't give them any info about your family if that's who they are looking for but do take the family member aside and let them know that Asset is looking for them so they can make an informed decision about how to handle it. Send them here to ask about their options. Tell Asset that you haven't seen or spoke to that particular family member in YEARS and you have no idea if they are alive or dead. If they are looking for the previous occupant of where you live or a neighbor, tell them you are quite the snob and never but never associate with those deadbeat neighbors. Be snooty and snotty. Tell them to take your number off their list. Be very assertive about this or every shift someone will call you. Good luck and have fun with it. I love getting idiot collectors on the phone. If it's legal in your state, tape the call. I can always use another taped collector to put on up on my blog that someday soon will be coming to a url near you...
They are definitely asking for me by name so I know they are looking for me. And actually now that I recall they sent me something in the mail awhile back for a credit card that I've never had. Do I refuse to talk to them on the phone and just send them a letter?
See if you can find what they sent you before you answer the phone. If it's something that you know you don't owe, answer and tell them that. Tell them to expect a letter from you soon and then hang up. If you can't find the letter, answer and don't let them talk down to you. Be calm, cool, and collected, and don't allow them to fluster you. Just say that you dispute any debt that they may be collecting and that you need their mailing address. Once you have the mailing address, hang up and send them the following letter: Send it certified mail return receipt. If you cannot find the letter with the address and/or they won't give you the addy, post here again and let us get the mailing addy for you. If there is anything in the letter you are unsure of or don't understand, again, post it on this thread and let us help you. It may well be that you are out of the 30-day validation period and they won't comply as they legally don't have to (unless you're in TX or WV) but you will have demanded that they not call you. The debt they are contacting you about (since it's not on your credit report) could be very old and out of stat for suit or reporting. In that event, you can write to them again and demand a cease and desist. If you can (and if it's legal in your state), do record the call and keep a log of all calls from them. Who knows, they may violate and give you some counterclaims to use if they sue you or for a legal action of your own if you want. Good luck.
AAH - Assett Acceptance calls- they were looking for my wife UNDER her first ever married last name. I'm her 3rd husband. Just told them - "never heard of her". Caller kept on insisting that the # she called was the # they had on file for that person. When I replied that there was no person here by that name she actually asked me what MY name was - to which I replied that that was none of her f***** business. And hung up.
