Do you think ignoring these "debt collection" calls is a good idea?

[Kajimo]

So for the past few weeks I've been getting calls that show up on my caller ID as being from an 800 number, and the name simply shows as "800-services".

These calls are just automated voice recordings that say "We are a debt collection agency calling to collect a debt, please call <insert number here>" - then the call ends. They only say the number 1 time, and say it rather fast.

I've been ignoring these for a few reasons...1) They don't give a name as to who they're calling/looking for. 2) They don't offer a company name - they just expect me to call a random number they gave me. 3) As far as I'm aware I don't owe any debts 4) These calls always come in at odd times, like 11:00 PM on wednesday night

I'm slightly cautious this may actually be real, but to me it just screams some kind of scam...has anyone else had any experience with this, and if so is it real?

[Deleted]

Heavily depends on the nation of which you reside for the following advice.

But if you're adamant you owe nothing then simply ignore them, if it was a combination of both snail mail and phone calls then I'd do a soft pull on your credit file and dispute any outstanding charges if you're slightly paranoid.

To me though it seems like a bait and snatch call, bait the person and make them fearful pretend X charge is active in your file and sucker them into paying and run.

Most debt collections just write it off if under a grand and let it lie on file if they can't locate you/ contact you before it disappears in roughly 7 years iirc.

[slime]

I don't think the calls are real, only because debt collection is normally taken seriously and they know most people will just hang up when they hear the robot voice on the line not a person. If someone wanted their money back from you, I'm pretty sure they would be more direct about it. You could get a copy of your credit score and see if there is anything fishy on there.

[BrerBear]

I had a similar problem years ago. They may be real. Mine were (sort of). They were often similar to what you described, including the callback number.

I have had the same cell phone number for ten years, but apparently some scam artist made a bunch of fraudulent purchases and listed my cell phone as his own. I was only able to figure this out by asking who they were calling for, and then hearing them say another guy's name. Granted my they wouldn't stop calling even though I told them this had been my number for years and that was not me they were looking for.

The only way I got them to stop was to track down the debt collector company's name and send them a letter telling them to cease, or I would file a claim against them. Within a few months, it stopped.

Hope yours turns out easier.

Edit: Also, sometimes this can happen if a friend or relative has a debt and the collector tracks down your phone as being associated with them. They do this to put pressure on the debtor.

[Stormdash]

Check your credit reports for anything that isn't you. Stuff that is you, ignoring it won't make it go away. Take the calls, ignore the calls, but the smartest thing you can do with overdue debt is communicate with your creditors and see wha arrangements can be made and how they will affect your credit.

[Kyriani]

I'd call the number they provide to find out WHO they are looking for. If it isn't you, tell them whoever it is they are looking for doesn't live there and they should remove your number from their call list. I had to do this recently because they were looking for the previous tenant that lived in my house several years ago.

If you are who they are looking for you can still ask them not to call you and to contact you via snail mail. If they continue to call after you've requested them to stop, it becomes harassment and you can actually press charges against them for it.

[xChurch]

Wait long enough and they either will offer you an amazing deal (say paying 100 dollars of your debt to clear it) or in some countries, it will be scrubbed completely. I know in my country after 7 years your debt is scrubbed automatically.

[taliey]

We need more know your customers in place regulation to assess wherewithal to pay and risk.

[Icuren]

Sounds like a scam.

Not sure why they wouldn't send you mail first asking for you to pay back debts before harassing you on the phone. They just want you to call back/ give them a number so they know it's an active phone so they can continue to spam you with shit.

[sarahtasher]

Do you actually have debts of an amount that is not trivial ? (Because obviously those calls could be a kind of fishing)

[Lochton]

Yes, those you should ignore. If a company cannot present themselves with a name and a contact, then they aren't really someone with good intentions.

[Noradin]

Heavily depends on the nation of which you reside for the following advice.

This. In the EU such calls are illegal to begin with and even if they weren't they wouldn't be binding in any sense.
I suspect they are trying to trick you into calling so they can bill you for calling, anyway.
You should look up advice for your country. Maybe write to a paper or something, some of them have a law section where thry happily supply answers to cases such as this one. Some radio stations do this rom time to time, too. Maybe there is one you can think of?

[PixelFox]

Could be a scam, so obviously be careful and don't give them any information. If they have a debt you owe then they should already know all the information and be able to give it to YOU.

Honestly I would answer the phone or call them back, just so you know (if you don't already) what it's about.

If you do owe someone something substantial, it can mess up your credit rating and be a pain in the future if you don't deal with it now vs. later.

A lot of the time it's something stupid like a subscription you got suckered into and then your credit card expired (but they're pretty good about just figuring out how to bill the new card) and they keep racking up the debt each month rather than cancelling the subscription. Lots of companies (I'm looking at you AOL) will just bill you forever and then sic the collection dogs on you to try to get you to pay for services you never wanted or used.

ALWAYS look at your credit card statements every month and make sure you understand exactly where each charge comes from. Too many companies survive by getting you onto some automatic recurring charge that's virtually impossible to stop. In some cases your credit-card company can help, and you can order them to stop accepting charges from a merchant, but that WON'T necessarily stop the merchant from continuing to rack up unpaid charges that eventually turn into a collection process. You have to actually cancel whatever the subscription is, and what was just a couple clicks to subscribe to will probably require an hour on hold and an extended talk with a phone operator to cancel (if you're lucky).

Personally I think we need a consumer protection law that requires it to be as easy to cancel as to subscribe to things.

Yes, talking to collection agencies is painful, and they'll try to bully you into giving them payment (credit card or worse your checking account number) right then and there, or try to threaten you with all the terrible things that are going to happen, but once you find out what it's about you can just say "Thank you, I will look into the matter and submit a payment on my own.", or "I'm sorry, I don't feel you're respecting me so I am going to terminate the call at this point. Good bye".

If you do owe someone something then chances are they're not going to go away, so for your own health and happiness just deal with it now rather than be hounded by it and worry about it for a year or more. You can always try things like "I'm sorry I'm not able to pay that right now." and either work out a payment plan or see if they'll settle for a lesser amount.

Here's a good article:

http://www.investopedia.com/articles...ness-works.asp

[dextersmith]

Why call them to pay them? Block and sue them for harassment.

[anakin57]

Pull your credit report IMO: if you have debt that you don't know about, this will point it out to you.

[Netherspark]

It's a scam. Calling that number will rack up a ludicrous phone bill (hundreds or even thousands).

Debt collectors don't just phone you demanding money, let alone in a recorded voice. They need to state who they are, how much they want and what the debt is for. If they don't state these things you have no reason to listen to them.

You could also try googling the number and see what comes up.