This is hysterical!!! My husband received a collection notice from RJM Acquisitions for a bill from 1995. It's only for $150.00 so if he pays it he gets to pick a cordless phone, a walkman or a CD player and they will even pay shipping and handling and gave us a postage paid envelope!! There are different catagories for prizes but if you're at the top level you can pick a Sony 53" Projection TV, a Carnival 7 day cruise ore a Bose home entertainment system...damn I wish we owed them more money!! WHAT ARE THEY NUTS!!! ROFLMAO!!!!
Are you sure that in fact it is for $150, or are they trying to locate the debtor for some other debt, or perhaps reset the SOL? A number of years ago, some CAs used "contest" offers to try to skip trace debtors. FTC found this a violation of FDCPA.
Also note that "contest entries" have been used by some telemarketers to get around the Do Not Call list since if you reply, you have now initiated the contact. They have also used them to claim you agreed to a "contract" for various services, club memberships, changing phone carriers, etc. In chess, you decline the gambit, a pawn apparently offered for "free". Your opponent likely knows what they are up to, so you don't enter that path.
