Somebody tried to scam me!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

About six weeks ago I got a letter from a company called Afni, Inc. which either is or at least claims to be a collections agency, saying that I owed $800+ to Alltel, which I know is a real telecommunications company. The letter also said that I could pay half the amount, although it wasn’t clear on whether they were saying I could pay half now and half later or just half and we’ll call it good. I had until the end of March to respond to this “pay half” offer, and it “may not be repeated.”

:dubious: Hmmm.

Well, I know for a fact that I don’t have any mysterious debts to any telecommunications company: I have never owned a cell phone and I haven’t had a land line in my apartment for something like ten years. (Yes, join me in the 19th century: life moves more slowly and the roads are always muddy, but the air is so clean!) Plus the “pay half” thing sounds suspicious to me: if we can’t hit you for $800, we’ll make an offer and you’ll be so relieved that you have to pay “only” $400 that your check will be in the mail before you realize that you’ve paid a debt you don’t owe!

So I reported them to the FTC, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office and the Postal Service, explaining to each that I think these guys are trying to scam me. (I also found a website specifically about Afni, Inc. and how they are evil scammers who try to rip people off, and recommending that I report them to these three entities, so that they will know what Afni is up to.)

A couple of weeks ago I got a form letter from the ILAG saying, “Okay, we got your complaint; we’re going to contact them and ask for their side of the story; stay tuned.”

Yesterday I got another letter from the ILAG’s office that said, “They said they hired a professional skip tracer to look for someone with your name and found you instead. They are terribly sorry and promise they will never contact you again. If we don’t hear from you in writing within ten days we will close your file.”

Okay, so. Fine. Victory lap for me. But still… :dubious:

My name is uncommon, but not unique. I know that. But their “professional skip tracer” couldn’t figure out that I was not the person they’re looking for? Does that happen all the time?

I still think it’s a scam, and they got busted. At the very least I helped to put another note in their file with the state’s AG office and the FTC.

Grrr.

2

It looks like the ILAG would like to save time and effort by burying this one. I would send a letter back stating that you would like them to pursue this because this seems to be an ongoing problem according to the website(which you provide in your response) which advised you to contact them in the first place. Notes in a file won’t do anyone any good if they aren’t followed up on.

3

In addition to the other advice, Google one of the scam message boards (they boards are not scams, but are about scams :D) and post about this. That way if someone else Google’s the company name and Alltel, it’ll come up. You may also want to let Alltel know that someone is questionably using their name to scam people.

Several times, I’ve had to invoke the CA powers at be and I’ve been very happy with the results each time. Super fast, resolved in my favor every time, and just very professional.

4

I agree with Czarcasm; i’d push the AG to keep the heat on them.

5

Hmmm, okay. What am I asking them to do? As far as they’re concerned, the matter is closed. Are they obligated to me as an Illinois resident (and taxpayer) to try to nail these people to the wall in the name of consumer protection? I’m not going to get anything more out of this.

I mean, I figure they’ve gotten complaints from other people about Afni before this. All they can do is tell people, maybe, “Yeah, they’re bad news. Don’t give them any money.” Of course, if I had given Afni money, then the ILAG could do something about that. It’s just I imagine they’re going to come back and say, “Lady, you’re off the hook. What more do you want?”

6

You were off the hook when you didn’t pay up-tell them to do the job they are being paid to do.

7

Yes, every single day.

A few months ago I got a letter from a debt collector (I think it was also in IL, but I don’t recall the name) that gave me the exact same half-off offer for a large debt to a defunct furniture store in NYC. I never had an account with them. I Googled the company and saw a load of message board posts about people who had the exact same situation, and most of them had never done business with the companies named in the letters they received. I filed with the AG like a couple of other posters who also got letters had suggested, and got a sorry for the trouble letter.

Debt collectors are allowed to send out letters. So many so-called sources these skip tracers use, including the many bullshit paranoia based background check agencies, have incorrect information. Chum bucket type reports full of incorrect information.

8

It’s a shame that there’s no legal punishment for attempting to dun the wrong person. Right now, sleazy collection agencies can send out these sort of letters, and hope that they hit someone gullible enough to pay up.

9

I have a very common name, that’s sort of the equivalent of Jane Doe. Google it and it takes about 17 or 18 pages to find a link that’s actually related to me. I used to get phone calls all the time from different debt collectors and once engaged myself in a great argument with one dude who insisted I wasn’t who I claimed to be. Hey, asshole, you called me. I told him to send me proof that I agreed to the debt, to the last known address he had for me. He’d already told me what it was and I’d never lived there. I also had never had an account with the creditor he was claiming I owed $1,800 to.

When I cut off my landline, these calls stopped. My landline was listed in the phone book as my first initial and last name, no address, only the phone number. I have never listed my cell number anywhere. They were just shooting in the dark at all the “J. Doe” listings they could find and once I cut that line off, it was over.

10

I do lots of people searches. I am always amazed at how numerous the strangest name is in a given state. Your name is most likely not unique. Bill collectors like to take shortcuts. Why not send a letter and see what happens based on an Internet search? That’s what they did and a complaint ensued. Asking for half the bill on an amnesty basis is also very common. That’s just the reality of it and you move on. Shoddy workmanship yes; scam no.