@Anonymous wrote:
I received a call today from an attorney's office in Atlanta (I am in Tennessee). They said that they were calling about a bad check from September 2002. They told me that I could pay it (or make arrangements to pay it) and they would "take me off the docket" - otherwise, I would be served court papers later this week. Please tell me what to do about this . . . they can't (or won't) give me the name of the company that I owe, nor can they give me the amount of the original check, yet they claim that I now owe $580.00 due to the additional fees that were added. I know that I never wrote a check for that amount - or even close to that amount. Do I have any way to deal with this without being taken to court?
Thanks.
A law office is required to provide you their practice name, address, phone, the attorney's name, their state bar number, the name of their client, original claim amount, accrued interest, fees and attorney's fees, etc.
If they will not provide any of the above info, they are almost guaranteed to be lying to you about even being an attorney. An attorney who fails to do the above can be sanctioned, disbarred and even imprisoned (depending on the nature of law violation).
Ask them for this info. Ask them to fax or mail you a letter or statement. Any debt collector is required to mail you a written notice within 5 days of contacting you by phone.
This sounds like a dead beat collection company (if there is ANY root of truth to an original debt) down to an outright scam. They are counting on you reacting EXACTLY as you are, scared and in a panic. If they can get you into that state, there is a good chance they can get you to pay up, even if you don't owe anything.
Did the phone number register on Caller ID? Did they give you any info at all?
Message Edited by txjohn on 05-19-2009 05:41 AM
