Dynamic Recovery Solutions - Martin "Ay-Dare" (sp?) Called about an alleged 11 year old debt. Would not provide anything in writing unless I agreed to pay, in which case they would provide a settlement letter. Burnet Texas

 First, they left a voicemail saying they needed me to call them back today. I called back and got a guy named Jacob. Jacob explained that they were not a debt collection agency, instead they are a mediator trying to finalize the collection of a debt for their client. I asked when the debt was from (as I've paid all my debts...that I knew of) and he said it was originally from 1999, and was sent to collections in 2002. That is 11 years ago now. I requested that they send me something in writing so that I could see what they were looking at, because I thought I had paid all of my debts. He said that he could only email me a settlement letter. I said that I need to review whatever information he had, and that I had to research the debt, look at my finances, talk to my wife, etc.  He said all he could do was send me an email while I was on the phone, and I could review it with him on the phone, and then make payment arrangements or a lump sum settlement. I said that I was not willing to do that. He said that a decision had to be made today, at which point I laughed because it is an alleged 11 year old debt. He asked if I was scared that they were trying to scam me, and I said, "Yes, that's part of it." He then said, "If we were going to scam you, we could do it...we wouldn't even have to call you to do it. I've got your social security number right here..." and he recited it, "and I've got your mortgage information here..." and he recited it. At that point I told him that I was not going to make any decisions right now with him on the phone, and I asked him, "Is it your company policy to not allow me to review this alleged debt in writing?" That's when he got his manager.

His manager, Martin A'der (spelling? "Ay-Dare"), continued with the same nonsense, only he was a bit more aggressive with his word-salad of collections lingo like wage garnishment and mentioned lawyers alot.  I maintained my stance of not paying anything until I see something in writing and have a chance to review it. He would only send me an email to review while on the phone, and I was unwilling to do that. Eventually, he tried really hard to nail down some sort of "Yes, I will pay" or "No, I refuse to pay" type statement. I told him that "I'm not willing to make a decision today". He said he would have to put that as a "Refusal to pay" in his statement back to the client, who was allegedly Providian Bank. See here for more on Providian Bank and the largest settlement ever against a credit card company for alleged widespread unlawful business practices. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Providian

I find it scary that Dynamic Recovery Solutions uses a format that can be misleading, untruthful, and focused in a way that would be perceived as intimidating to people who are otherwise more willing to be misled than myself. I highly discourage anyone to make ad-hoc decisions about debt collections without first reviewing the claim in writing, and addressing it responsibly. I am willing to pay my debts, but I am not willing to pay alleged debts. It must first be proven to me in something much more than a phone call.