Sounds like a scam to me. I would have them send you the paperwork and tell them you will show it to your lawyer... Be careful not to give any social security numbers or bank account information. Kathy_PA

Thx Kathy! Luckily I haven't had to deal w/too many coll. agencies, but I don't give them anything -- I just politely say that I contest the validity of the charges and ask to communicate through the mail so I have a paper trail.

I'll report back on any further developments w/this mess!

Thx
Jill

Jill -
Contact your local police fraud squad ... they might have some knowledge of a scam.

http://fair-debt-collection.com/Debt_Collection_FAQ/Specific-FAQ.html

Here is a link that might be useful: FTC subscription info

Lazy--
Thanks so much for those links...informative & I've passed them along to DH.

Jill

IF they are legitimate, then the original creditor may have sold the debt to the collection agency for pennies on the dollar, because, the debt is practically worthless when it gets closer to the time that it can be reported on a credit report (7 years.) When do they claim that he incurred this debt? If you begin to pay them now, I think you will re-set the 7 year limit. Not sure though. Actually, looking at the date (1/96) I wonder if they can even report this on his credit report. I would recommend not paying a dime. I normally wouldn't recommend that, because I consider myself a very ethical person. But, what kind of a company charges $600 for magazine subscriptions anyway??? Doesn't sound very ethical.

Do you think that you never received any collection information from the original creditor because someone used your DH's name to buy these magazines? The original creditor may have been sending collection notices to the address of this person. Then, when the collection agency bought the debt, they traced your DH to his current address. When you get the info, check the address of where these magazines were sent, and the dates that they were sent, to make sure that your DH actually lived there during those dates. It could be a situation where, after he moved out of an apartment, the new tenant received "offers" with your DH's name on them, and signed up.

Thx Windchime! I agree with you - I am very proactive about clearing up any problems that I (or we) have run into with this kind of thing. It's weird that we got a call on 2/14, but they just left a generic message---then nothing until yesterday (Fri.) No calls on the weekend either. DH swears he didn't get any magazines (and certainly not $600 worth!), but the lady says that he specifically signed something.

This should be interesting -- we have been fighting MCI over what they say are charges we incurred when we switched to their long distance carrier 3 yrs ago (and we switched back to our reg LD carrier after only having MCI 3 wks!) -- every time they've contacted us (I think 2x) I've asked specifically for a detailed bill of the charges and they NEVER end up providing it. This time a collection co. sent the letter and I wrote back and only said that I disputed the validity of the debt because their notice said that if I did that they would have to provide a detailed bill----it's been a month now and they haven't sent anything back to us---which was what happened when MCI was trying to get the same $ from us. DH in fact switched us (the phone was in my name only) after they promised to send a check to cover the cost of switching (we have a co-op phone co.) and a coupon for a bunch of free minutes of long distance -- which they never did. It's only $70 but it's the principal of the thing. I definitely know we didn't make $70 worth of LD calls...as our mothly bill for LD is never over $25.

Fun fun fun :-)

Jill

You're wise to be skeptical of this outfit. I agree it's probably a scam. If they call back, make sure they provide you with the full company name, the full name of the person calling and require written documentation be sent to you, but do NOT give them an address. Ask for them to give you the address they have. Tell them to send it to the address on file too, give them no information. I wouldn't even tell them when your husband will be home or not home, it's none of their business. They should have an 800# and should give you their business license #. Check with the state they operate from and check on the business. See if a phone number is listed (you can do this on the internet) for the business. I'd also pull a credit report immediately to see if they tried filing anything on you.

If you can, try to record the call. If they balk at giving you any info, call the attorney general and the local police.

Ken

Ken--
Thanks--great advice! I've jotted down the info. you've provided, since I will be the one that gets called again. I'll keep y'all posted on where this thing goes.

Thanks again!
Jill

thought I'd post an update on this thread....

My DH called the # that they left back the day I posted this. Of course it was 5:55 EST, but the office of these people (central time) had already closed...so he left a voice mail simply stating that he absolutely disputed the validity of these charges and that they were welcome to call back to discuss this with him further. He swears he was polite, but to the point. Guess what? No calls back. No proof sent by snail mail...nothing! too weird! I'm certain that they will surface their heads again, but for now it's quiet.

To set the record straight. Central time is one hour behind eastern time. So, 5:00 PM central time is 6:00 PM eastern time which is the time you are on.

thx Judith :-)

I did a bad job trying to make my point that at 5:55 p.m. here on the east coast - it was only 4:55 p.m. there so DH was really confused about why this so-called "collection agency" wasn't reachable at a normal business hour.

Final item on P. 26, 5.75 years ago.

Much interesting and useful material in those 26 pages!

Thanks to all who contributed ... to add to the store of knowledge of the rest of us.

And not a large amount of erroneous information imparted, I think ... though one does need to be careful, for not all information is accurate, even though the original poster who offers usually understands it to be so.

ole joyful

The internet has put our personal information out there for anyone who seeks it, for whatever purpose. Often the phishing/phone scams are from prisons and foreign countries with lax laws.

The date was random and the demand to send immediate payment definitely stinks. It's a scam, for sure. No reputable company especially with "International" as part of it's name would make a first attempt to enforce a contract over 10 years old. Have the buggers fax you a copy of the contract. Then report it to your appropriate local authorities. There are plenty of people (especially seniors) who would fall for this.

This post is almost six years old... I don't think the OP is seeking advice anymore!

Get every collection attempt in writing, see if legitimate but forgotten debt, otherwise ignore, could well be ID theft.
If persistant attempts continue, tell collectors you will call local TV consumer affairs hotline, send written complaint to FCC, local district atty or police with complaints against THEM.
When one outfit persisted in calling me a year after the time limit for creditors against my mother's estate, I said she had moved to Colma & gave her new address & phone number -- the cemetery.