Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in New York

Collection Agency Call

Received a collection call on a matter 4 years old. Agency has had on file since Feb 05 (I asked). Claim of a ''verbal (recorded)'' contract to a magazine company. Debt of $700+ will settle for $350 to clear debt. Will not send a written notice of collection or attempt to collect. Will only take Credit Card payment over phone. I am uncomfortable with all of this, as I do not recall any of these ''verbal'' transactions. I had problems in 2004-5 with ''unauthorized'' charges to this particular bank account and had to close it, all valid charges were moved to my current account. Only information I could collect was the name of the collection agent and the company (ACS Collections). He's agreed to put my collection on hold until the 18th when he will call again. Are there questions that I need to ask? Is this a true debt or is it related to those unauthorized debits against my old account? I truly don't like the idea of providing credit card information over the phone to someone I don't know for a debt I don't think I owe. I have all bank statements from old bank before/during this time frame. Any help would be apprieciated. Thank you.


Asked on 5/12/06, 12:41 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Debra Palazzo Law Offices of Debra Palazzo, LLC

Re: Collection Agency Call

DO NOT GIVE YOUR CREDIT CARD #!

You have the right to know, pursuant to the Federal Debt Collection Act, what the debt is for and who the original creditor is. So ask for verification of the debt.

If you do not owe the debt or if it is over 6 yrs old, tell them NOT to contact you anymore as Statute of Limitations may have run.

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Answered on 5/12/06, 10:32 pm


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