A debt that i don't have, what to do??

[Anonymous]

Hi Guys,

Today i just received a letter from a debt collection company called "DebtRid" saying that i owe then 16k and they are offering me 8k as a settlement offer with monthly payments of $240, well i don't have any debt, my car is paid in full, i rent, i don't have any credit card debt right now, no pets, and no medical bill, i'm in shock right now, is this a scam?, called the number in the letter and it hang out if you don't approve them to call you or text you back, does anyone has any info about this company?, did a search but couldn't find much info, just this:

DebtRid

BBB File Opened: 03/26/2018

Business Category

• Debt Relief Services

Additional Information

• The address currently on file is not a physical location for this company but rather a virtual mail forwarding address. At this time BBB does not have a physical location for this company.

I am on top of my credit report and i haven't received any alert of a car loan, credit card balance or anything like that, i really think this is a scam but don't know how to prove it, please any help will be appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.

[Creditplz]

File a complaint with the CFPB, and possibly the FTC.

If you truly don’t owe this debt it could very well be the result of fraud. Call them, avoid giving them your SSN.

[kimbersleep]

It could be a scam. It could be an account opened by ID theft. It could be valid (however unlikely).

To get more information, you could send a Debt Validation letter to the collection agency to determine if the collection agency is legally authorized to collect on an alleged debt of yours. Debt Validation enables to you understand if they have proof showing the actual debt amount, and who they are collecting for.

You have to send the Debt Validation letter within 30 days of receiving the initial communication from the collector, in order to receive certain protections under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. For proof of mailing & receipt dates, you will want to send it Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested. They are supposed to reply with adequate proof of your legal obligation to pay the debt. They can't just reply with the amount -- they need to provide simple proof like a credit card statement matching the balance, or a list of charges that total the amount they originally sent you.

Once they receive your Debt Validation letter, they have to stop all collection activities until they validate the debt. They don't have to respond in a certain period of time, but they cannot attempt to collect again until they validate.

This would be one way to see if it is a legitimate collection. But I agree - don't provide any more personal information to them in the Debt Validation letter than what appears on their correspondence to you.