Hi everyone. I need some advice! So here goes my situation: My dad received a notice in the mail from Afni, Inc. saying that he owed $30.16 from the original creditor of Verizon Select Services, Inc., for a landline that was associated with an address we haven't lived at since 1998. It's now 2007 so that makes it 9 years! Ridiculous right. The original balance was about $60 and the notice stated that if we paid half, the delinquency would be cleared. So I called Afni due to my father's limited English, and inquired about this bill and told the guy we haven't lived at that residence for 9 years. I guess they really train their employees on what to say because this guy was VERY knowledgeable and told me that the company wasn't called Verizon at the time, but GTE. He also told me that Verizon had sent out two notices, one in Nov. '98 and one in Dec. '98. We moved in September 1998 so it made sense that they would send out a bill in October 1998. Thus, it sounded believable because the time frames matched up and the name on the account was my father's EXACT name. So after a couple more minutes I decided to just pay the $30.16 which was half of the original balance. The guy said I couldn't pay with a credit card so I gave him my check information. I got this really uneasy feeling afterwards, so I hopped on the internet and found TONS of scam reports on this company and almost all of the cases sounded similar to ours! I really don't know how collections work, but trying to collect a 9 year debt sounds really suspicious to me. So in short, I know I should have done the research before I paid and gave them all my bank information, but I didn't and need to know what to do! I don't know what legally classifies as fraud because in my case it wasn't ID theft or anything like that. My first instinct is to change my bank information. I want to know if was scammed or if there's anything else they can do with my information and most importantly, JUSTICE! Please help. Thanks!
First, don't feel bad, you only did what any normal person would do. I don't think you really have to worry here, just watch your bank account and make sure it is only the $30 withdrawn. Since it is only $30, write it off to "educational expenses", and move on. Yes, technically there was nothing they could do, and by law you didn' have to pay it. But, it's cleared now, and just put it behind you. Perhaps this $30 will save you much more should this happen again!
I would call the bank first thing in the morning. Explain the situation to them. Tell them that you have authorized ONE AND ONLY ONE withdrawal of $30.16. Ask them to decline any more withdrawals from this business, and if any more withdrawals are attempted to notify you immediately so you can call the police. It could be a one-time scam where they get $30 off of a bunch of people, or they could be collecting account information to use again next month and make it look like a regular withdrawal. As Biz said, don't feel too bad. They don't give you time to think. That's the way they operate. And $30 isn't a big loss. Just make sure there aren't any more.
Two issues in this matter: 1. SOL - why did you even pay it? 2. Never ever give an outfit your banking info, over the phone. You should have told him to send you a paper bill and that you will send them a money order.
Drastic action is like trying to ring the doorbell with a howitzer. Works but not necessarily good for the house. Hedwig's suggestion is good, but you should go to the bank and file a stop payment authorization with the bank. You would likely also need to write a letter to Afni stating explicitly that you withdraw any and all authorization to access any account of yours, anywhere. Start putting the hurdles in place that will trip them up.
