Private debt collectors try every which way in order to persuade someone into paying. The first response would be to see if the debt actually exists, and the second response would be to see who it is owed to. People fall for these tricks sometimes because the debt exists, but they are not aware that it does not need to be paid to the collector.

A few years ago a debt collector called my mother and told her that she still owed on a debt from over 10 years ago. I asked my mom about the debt and she said it was from a utility account that may not have been completely paid off. I first realized that the statute of limitation was probably up and I then asked her why the utility company did not collect and she did not know why.

I knew that the private debt collector would not be able to make a good case for why the debt should be paid so I had a little fun and asked them to provide documentation that they owned the debt, that the debt was not past the limitation, and that they could prove the total of the debt. After a few phone calls and letters they stopped contacting my mom, but it was fun talking with a couple of the collectors.

Moral of the story is: 1) Make sure you actually bounced a check 2) Make sure the person who is trying to collect can actually prove the money is owed to them 3) Make sure the money actually needs to be paid and the amount.

Thanks for another good post Mr Consumer.