Wow! I just called a legal firm in Ohio that "claims" to be collecting on a debt of mine, here in Oregon. At first I thought I would ignore the call that was left voice -mail at work on Friday. But, this morning I thought, i might as well set the bar. I called the extension of the person that left the message. He immediately wanted to "nice guy" me about a debt they "claimed" I owed. I neither agreed or disagreed. I did state that I will not speak or communicate to anyone whose name is not associated with any written paperwork I have related to my debt. I then mentioned I would be expecting a notice within the FCDPA 5-day guidelines. Immediately after that he told me of "my rights," they were a debt collection firm, attempting to collect a debt, etc. He then sent me on to another party, and I "listened" to her. She really wanted me to agree to the debt. Fish weren't biting LOL. She really tried and I reitereated i don't speak to anyone about my personal finances that I've no record of being associated with. I said I'm always concerned about identity theft and perhaps I should contact my state attorney generals' office, especially after she tried to get me to "confirm" the last four numbers of my SSN. She immediately stated a notice would be sent to me within five-days. Since Oregon and Ohio are both one-party recording states, I captured the entire conversation, for my "own" benefit. Thank you all. The advice and experience on this board and others has been wonderful. I have a long path ahead, but I'm pretty calm among these waves. Cheers.
