Passed to a debt Collection

So, I have an account with '3 mobile' & I don't have it set up to direct debit.

Anyway, basically I'm fairly forgetful when it comes to paying for things, so i forgot to pay it.
Anyway, apparently 3 have attempted to contact, although I've recieved no missed calls or voice mails from 3.
Basically today I received 5 voice mails from 12:30-4:30pm, so I rang this debt collection agency & I've basically said I'm not going to pay anything until I get a certification letter from the Debt collecters to confirm who they are, I know i'm within my rights to request this.

Anyway, the arrogant person on the other side of the phone basically said this is not acceptable, & he did actually get very angry at me. I basically said 'Right I'd like a letter sending to me, & until then I am going to refuse to make any payment & he refused.. It ended up with a 15 minute phone call which he ended up hanging up after constantly refusing to send any sort of verification to who they are.. I've recorded the whole call, so I have a perfect amount of evidence to what I've said.

I'm wondering if anyone's had any run ins with debt collecters & how I should handle this?

 

Well, anyone calling you and saying that you owe them money doesn't constitute they are legit. Hell, I could call you and tell you that you owe me $3k claiming I am working for the IRS.

You are within your right to ask for proof by letter of the company, which generally they include the bill that is owed.

You still have to pay the bill but, at least you know to whom you are legitimately paying.

 

I'm more than happy to pay, but I'm not gonna start giving my card details out to a random man over the phone because apparantly I owe someone money!

 

Also, you can make a call straight to 3 mobile and see if they still have your account or if they transferred it to a collection agency. They should be able to tell you the name of company they transferred your account to and a contact number.

 

If it was a real debt collection agency they contact you via certified mail before harassing you over the phone, that way they can prove that you received the letter. They will never call you to inform you that your case has been transferred to a debt collection agency or ask you for bank account/ credit card information over the phone without first verifying who they are.

 

Exactly this. My uncle made his money by "buying" credit card debts of the credit companies. He would send you a letter, after that he would just have someone serve the person. If they didn't show up then garnishment of wages starts happening. Said that's the best way to do it. Then you have a constant flow of money coming towards you.

 

This 110%, I pretty much gave away my information to a "debt collector" when I was 18 like a dumbass and got my identity stolen.


You played that smart though, people are snakes out there man...it has happened to me before, and recently I'm getting calls from a "debt collector" saying I owe $400 for my retro fitness membership...which I still scan in to get into the gym everyday lol?

 

Hmm sounds most likely sounds like some kind of a scam from the way you described it.

 

I rang 3 & it turned out it was legit, I paid 3 anyway.
The service from this debt collection was horrible though