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This evening when I arrived home I had a call from a person at
Aurora, Gold and Associates on my answering machine. He said I
needed to return his call, that I was a "person of interest" in
a case involving a "John Smith" (name changed for this post),
and gave me a case number.
I had just been involved in a minor car accident, so, thinking
that it might be one of the other drivers' insurance companies,
I returned the call. I got their voicemail, so I left a
message and included my cellphone number.
Something didn't seem to feel right, though, so I did a web
search and found a LOT of indications that AG&A is apparently a
collections agency, and that they've made a LOT of people
unhappy. I don't want to get into the details of what I found,
but it was apparently interesting enough for one site to have
included a direct mail link to the FBI (which I made use of).
Anyway, I'm a little concerned. I do not know a John Smith, and
I do not, as far as I know, owe any money to anybody (except my
mortgage company, and my account with them is in good standing).
I'm thinking that this is most likely a case of mistaken identity
at best, and a scam or a bit of fallout from identity theft at
worst.
How should I handle things when the guy calls back?
--
Mark Shaw moc TOD liamg TA wahsnm
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"Nobody loves you because you're tiny and you're made of meat!"
- Planet Express Ship
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In article <m9esu35dgd8p8tmusiod61ar8okafg065i@4ax.com>,
Mark Shaw <mshaw@bangnetcom.com> wrote:
Anyway, I'm a little concerned. I do not know a John Smith, and
I do not, as far as I know, owe any money to anybody (except my
mortgage company, and my account with them is in good standing).
I'm thinking that this is most likely a case of mistaken identity
at best, and a scam or a bit of fallout from identity theft at
worst.
How should I handle things when the guy calls back?
Tell them that you would be happy to pay the money and any
fees that have accumulated, once you are so ordered to do so
by a court of the proper jurisdiction.
-john-
--
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John A. Weeks III 612-720-2854 john@johnweeks.com
Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com
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On Mar 30, 7:57 am, "John A. Weeks III" <j...@johnweeks.com> wrote:
In article <m9esu35dgd8p8tmusiod61ar8okafg0...@4ax.com>,
Mark Shaw <ms...@bangnetcom.com> wrote:
Tell them that you would be happy to pay the money and any
fees that have accumulated, once you are so ordered to do so
by a court of the proper jurisdiction.
That could be extremely bad advice, John. It could be taken as an
acknowledgement of the alleged debt, possibly even obviating the need
for the alleged creditor to come forward with any other evidence for
the basis of the original claimed debt than that acknowledgement.
IOW, if OP says that, he could be screwed.
OP, you ought to consult a local lawyer to help you out if anything
further happens other than phone calls, but you have no obligation to
talk to this caller again at all. If they call back, you can tell
them you don't owe anything and ask them not to call you again. If
they then continue to call you again anyway, talk to a lawyer -- you
may be able to sue _them_ for violation of fair debt collection
practices. Good luck,
--
This posting is for discussion purposes, not professional advice.
Anything you post on this Newsgroup is public information.
I am not your lawyer, and you are not my client in any specific legal
matter.
For confidential professional advice, consult your own lawyer in a
private communication.
Mike Jacobs
LAW OFFICE OF W. MICHAEL JACOBS
10440 Little Patuxent Pkwy #300
Columbia, MD 21044
(tel) 410-740-5685 (fax) 410-740-4300
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