Who is Protecting the Consumers?
posted in Rantings |Last week, my mum and I were chit-chatting when she mentioned a collection letter that my brother received. She went on to state that the letter contained my brother’s previous address, his social security number, but the wrong date of birth.
I thought perhaps it was a typo, but as the conversation continued, she revealed that the collection agency was calling on behalf of Verizon. The debt was supposedly for a land-line. That’s when things started to become interesting. My brother has never owned a land-line. He’s a natural-born-geek, was into technology and cell phones well before I relented and has always been a mobile type of fellow.
I was curious, so I asked my mother to get the phone number of the company trying to collect the debt and googled it. My brother, granted he is definitely above average, with regards to technology, is still a guy, when it comes to following through on important issues. He would probably never get around to investigating this matter and I was concerned that if they had information on him, that perhaps someone had “borrowed” his identity.
Hey, don’t laugh! It’s happened to me already and I had to work feverishly to get things back in order.
No sooner than I type in the phone number of the company, does the name AFNI appear and the link is to http://www.ripoffreport.com. Boy, did I open a can of worms! There were countless reports involving AFNI. I reported this to my mum and brother and nearly considered the issue done, on my part anyway, but decided to keep reading. I’m glad that I did.
One consumer reported an almost identical story, save for the fact that AFNI insisted that they had opened an account with Verizon when they were 8-years-old. Yep! You read correctly. Eight. Years. Old. Well naturally, anyone with half a brain knows that a child could not possibly open that account, right? It should be a done deal. Um…no! AFNI informed this individual that they still had to pay, suggesting that perhaps his parents would assist.
And the plot thickens…
This person did what I would have done; they contacted Verizon, thinking that surely they would see the absurdity of paying a bill that one doesn’t owe. Surprisingly, Verizon added insult to injury by passing the poor kid from department to department, before finally blurting out that there was nothing they could do. The bill had gone to collections and all negotiations had to take place with AFNI.
Someone else, who had fallen victim of the same “scam” offered a suggestion.
Be advised that this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested.
I am waiting to hear the outcome, will update this post when I find out.
I suspect that Verizon and AFNI are in the same bed and also suspect that unless a consumer becomes their own advocate, a supersleuth of sorts, then the pocketbook will always be at risk for being a littler lighter.
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6/12/2008 - UPDATE
My mum notified me that she dropped a letter to AFNI in the mail last Friday. He received a response 4 days later, stating that after “an extensive investigation” they have decided that he did not owe anything. Imagine that? He didn’t owe anything?
I was not in the least bit shocked. The entire thing smelled of a scam from the first minute.
I hope that anyone reading this post will be diligent, as there are a number of companies that tack on questionable fees and rip consumers off, but nothing is done if YOU don’t protect yourself.