Scavenger Bill Collectors

Legitimate bill collectors are irritating enough.

There is a less legitimate breed, firms that buy old records from credit card companies and other creditors and try to scare you into some kind of settlement.

That the records are often not accurate does not bother the scavengers. That there is no real liability does not bother them either.

One trick - if they cannot find the real creditor they may start trying to collect from people with similar names, just to see what they can scare up.

A few of this breed will get on the phone and try to scare you with threats of arrest and prosecution, which of course is not legal. Hang up the phone.

Some of these operations are run through law firms, which is supposed to make them extra scary.

Don't ignore letters, especially if the letter asks for a very large sum of money. A return letter via certified mail disputing the balance is very important.

And as a general rule of life, keep copies of everything!