Colector wants me to pay a debt I do not owe

by Betty R.
(Wichita Falls, TX, )

On or about November 18, 2013 I received a letter from Wakefield & Associates about a debt incurred by Tommy Brown on June 28, 2011 from Air EVAC EMS for $2,030.93. I contacted them immediately and told them I do not know a Tommy Brown. They said that I, Betty Brown, signed for the bill. Again I said I do not know Tommy Brown and did not sign for him nor have I ever met anyone by this name. Following the phone call, I wrote them a letter again reiterating the same information.

Today, January 31, 2014, Shaun(?)from Wakefield & Associates called me again about the debt. For the third time, I told him I do not know nor have I ever met Tommy Brown. He said something about me being married to Tommy Brown. I told him my husband was in the other room and would he like to talk to him. He said that I signed the papers as a grantor for the bill and why would the papers have my phone number and address. I told him I had no idea why my information was on the agreement. I also reminded him that "Betty Brown" is a very common name and to compare the signature from my letter I sent them to the signature on the invoice. He said he wasn't a hand writing expert. I feel I am being harassed for this bill that I did not incur and know nothing about.

What are my options?

Comments for Colector wants me to pay a debt I do not owe

Click here to add your own comments

Apr 04, 2015
 FDCPA
by: Kenny

I recommend you check your credit monthly, I pay 12.95 a month to get a credit report with scores.

If you see a listing on your report that you do not recognize, write a letter to the CB, by law they have to confirm the debt with the OC, if they do not confirm it with in 30 days they have to remove it. If they do confirm it, check with your state to see the SOL of collections, in Florida there is 5 years of the first day the debt becomes delinquent.

If it's 5 Years or older they are past the statute of Limitations (SOL) all you have to say to the judge is the case is a Time Barred case, when the judge sees the case is passed the SOL HE WILL DISMISS THE CASE.

However check with your state some states have a 10 year SOL and some as low as 4 years for verbal as well as written contracts and promissory notes.
Jun 17, 2014
 Letter of demand from lawyers representing a Bank to pay a debt which is not mine and which i do not know
by: Anonymous

I received a letter of demand from a Law Firm e-mail demanding me to pay a lot of money allegedly i owed to a certain Bank. I was given 14 days to pay all amount and if i did not comply to this time frame, the letter said i will also be liable for legal fees. This came as a big shock me as i have no bank account with this bank and have never applied fir any loan from it. I replied by e-mail denying any knowledge of this alleged debt,and demanded to be given documents urgently which indicates where and when did i sign for this loan from the bank. It is now one month since i wrote to them but i have not received any response. I had showed my husband this e-mail and he was indeed suprised and asked me whether i owed this money. Now i do not know how to proceed further. I want to sue this law firm to pay me damages for emotional suffering caused by this stupid letter. I just married eight months ago, and now my husband does not fully believe me, and this has really altered and affected my family life. Is it legal or rather possible to claim money gor my emotional suffering from this law firm?

Reply from DebtCollectionAnswers.com:

Your first order of business needs to be to resolve your debt collection problem because you may be at risk for a lawsuit and your debt collection problem may already have damaged your credit histories. You can worry about whether you have grounds to initiate a lawsuit later.

At this stage, I think you should consult with a consumer law attorney right away about what to do. Go here to Get FREE legal advice about debt collection.

I also caution you about continuing to communicate with with the law firm via email. I worry that the firm may not really be a law firm and may in fact be an online scam intended to get your personal financial information. If that were to happen, your problems could be just beginning.

Again, consult with an attorney right away.
Apr 10, 2014
 Do nothing.....
by: Anonymous

Do not give any personal information to anyone over the phone. Require they send something via US postal service, don't give them your address, they should have in on their records. Once received, check the company out through the secretary of state in the state the company operates out of, Google them and discover if the information they sent you is exactly the same, company name, address and phone number if they give you that. Check The BBB by corporate name and again verify the address and business name are exactly the same. Then send them a certified letter return receipt requested demanding a validation of debt. (Google it for the exact law, I don't have it in front of me)

Remember you are not required to answer any questions over the phone or mail. Only a court of competent jurisdiction may compel you to answer these questions.

If they are truly attempting to collect a debt, they have the ability to write the debtor. Wait and see if you receive anything.

More often than not, people get in trouble when they speak with these junk debt collector and defend themselves from either a debt not owed, a debt that has expires per the statute of limitation in their state or the state in which the debt was created.

If the calls continue keep a log of the date, time, and phone they are calling from and file a complaint with the federal government. If that doesn't work contact a consumer law expert in your city, most are willing to give a 30 minutes free consultation for they can collect attorney fees from the debt collector if indeed the debt is bogus or not owed.

If they make any comments about the debt no matter how small. Make a note of what they said.

Good luck, hand in there you may make some vacation money from this.
Mar 07, 2014
 Help me, Part 2
by: Kenny

The second part;
With all the BS I found on CK I started looking at all the items on my Credit Report, I came a crossed two items that I did not recognized, I called the collection agency to get the original creditor, I told them my intention of sending a letter of validation of the said debt.
I guess they wanted to beat me to the punch line and sent me a billing statement from the OC, however the two address on the billing statement are not any addresses I have ever lived at or have known anybody who has live at. (The billing address and the service address)
I have a print out from the apartment complex my wife and I lived in at that date( on the billing statement) as well as the eviction notice. Which is the place I was living at the time.
However the name on the account is exactly like mine.
How do I get the CA remove the debt since it isn't mine?

Reply from DebtCollectionAnswers.com:

Have you disputed it with the credit reporting agencies that are reporting it? That's what we'd recommend you do next. You'll find out more in our article: how to dispute credit report errors
Mar 07, 2014
 Help
by: Kenny

I have a problem with a collection agency as well as Credit Karma.
Let me start from the beginning.
In December 2013 I signed up for Experian credit monitoring service to check my credit because I was having a problem with Credit Karma, my problem is complex and several problems rolled into one big one.
I pulled my credit on 12/31/2013.
I will start with credit Karma,
I signed up for credit karma's free credit score service, on sept,18 2013 I traded in my 05 Acura MDX on a newer MDX, I was approved for the financing.
Then I checked credit karma mid Oct 2013, nothing new late October I get a text from credit karma stating I have a repossession on my credit report,
When I check CK's app I noticed right away it was for Drive Time, I was upset because drive time was suppose to have fallen off my credit report all together,
My wife and I opened the account with drive time on 2/1/2006, went into default on 2/2007 because I lost my job, and my injuries I sustained while on active duty in the army were getting worse and making it hard to work.
Since the account was made in Florida the statute of limitations were 5 years, I was told that drive time wrote the debt off in Aug 2007 and the truck was repossessed on Feb 12 2009 in Millville, NJ at 11:30 pm.
I have the repossession order from the recovery agency.
When I wrote an email to CK and attempted to explain what I stated above, I received an automated response stating that the info CK has is taken directly from my credit report. That's when I made plans to start the credit monitoring service.

I pulled the first credit report from all three credit Bureau's on 1/31/2014 Drive Time was on TransUnion however it was dated 2/18/2006 not 10/23/2013. I have written to CK and they still insist the info is coming from TransUnion, moreover I just pulled a new CR from all three and there isn't anything from drive time or DT credit corp ( how it was listed on Equifax)

As of 3/4/2014 CK has listed another repossession from drive time as of 3/4/2014 as well as 10/23/2013, it's funny both are from drive time with the exact same amount owed.

Not to mention another derogatory item they have listed however it is no where on my credit report from any bureau.

Reply from DebtCollectionAnswers.com:

CreditKarma is correct that their score is based on TransUnion data and if TU wasn't reporting it they couldn't. Your question is quite complex and it's hard for me to understand exactly what is happening, but it is possible there is information associated with your name that is not showing up when you pull your own report. It's due to the way bureaus match information for credit reporting purposes.

I'd suggest you contact TransUnion to find out what's going on. If they can't resolve it then you can try to filing a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Feb 10, 2014
 Colector wants me to pay a debt I do not owe
by: Debtcollectionanswers.com

So sorry for your problem. I am sure that you must be frustrated. However, you have several options:

1. Write the collector another letter stating that you do not owe the debt and why and ask for written verification of the debt. Include any copies of any information you may have that helps prove that the debt is not yours. For example, if the collector believes that Tommy Brown is your husband and your husband has a different name, include a copy of your marriage license. Make a copy of your letter for your files and send the original via certified mail with a return receipt requested. You should know however that the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act only obligates a debt collector to respond to your request if you make it within 30 days of your being contacted about the debt for the first time and at this point you are probably beyond that time limit. I would send the letter anyway however. Also, the law does not state the kind of proof a debt collector must provide to you when it verifies a debt so even if the collector does respond to your letter, you may not know a whole lot more than you did before.

2. Send the collector a letter telling him not to contact you again about the debt. Again I would explain in your letter that the debt is not yours, and again send it via certified mail with a return receipt requested after you've made a copy of the letter for your files. You can read our advice on using a cease and desist letter to stop a debt collector.

Once the collector receives your letter, the law says that it cannot contact you about the debt again other than to let you know it got the letter or to inform you of what it intends to do next to collect the money from you -- sue you for example, which it may do if it's convinced you owe the money. If you are sued, contact a consumer law attorney who helps people resolve their debt collection problems right away.

If the debt collector continues contacting you after you've told him not to, the agency has violated federal law and so you should meet with a consumer law attorney to discuss your options. By the way, if you find yourself in this situation, it's a good idea to use our Free Debt Collection Worksheet to maintain a record of all contacts. If you end up suing the agency, this information could be very helpful.

Good luck!

Click here to add your own comments

Return to Debt Not Mine.

Learn how debt collection laws can help you!
This website does not provide legal advice.
All information is for educational purposes only.
Copyright 2007 - 2018 by Mary Reed and Gerri Detweiler.
All rights reserved.
Read our Privacy Policy here