Afni Received collection notice - never had a Verizon account ripoff Bloomington Illinois

Kristy, you are correct to dispute the debt in writing within 30 days of receiving the letter. AFNI, like many other collection agencies tries underhanded and deceptive practices to collect debts, whether or not they are actually yours.

If you request validation from AFNI, chances are they will not provide you with a real validation on a debt that old. In which case you send another letter demanding proper validation or you are considering the matter closed.

As other posters have stated NEVER CONTACT A COLLECTION AGENCY BY PHONE. They are not there to help you out, they are there to get paid. They don't care if the debt is not yours or if the amount is correct. Anyone who does would be fired in an hour.

And Josh, the "debt collection specialist" best of luck in the mailroom. I don't know if I would put that work experience on your resume. I know I would never hire anyone who came from a collection agency. And before you waste your time with a response, I have my degree and a high paying job. Save the banter for your "Debt Collection Specialist" position.

Kristy, you are correct to dispute the debt in writing within 30 days of receiving the letter. AFNI, like many other collection agencies tries underhanded and deceptive practices to collect debts, whether or not they are actually yours.

If you request validation from AFNI, chances are they will not provide you with a real validation on a debt that old. In which case you send another letter demanding proper validation or you are considering the matter closed.

As other posters have stated NEVER CONTACT A COLLECTION AGENCY BY PHONE. They are not there to help you out, they are there to get paid. They don't care if the debt is not yours or if the amount is correct. Anyone who does would be fired in an hour.

And Josh, the "debt collection specialist" best of luck in the mailroom. I don't know if I would put that work experience on your resume. I know I would never hire anyone who came from a collection agency. And before you waste your time with a response, I have my degree and a high paying job. Save the banter for your "Debt Collection Specialist" position.

Kristy, you are correct to dispute the debt in writing within 30 days of receiving the letter. AFNI, like many other collection agencies tries underhanded and deceptive practices to collect debts, whether or not they are actually yours.

If you request validation from AFNI, chances are they will not provide you with a real validation on a debt that old. In which case you send another letter demanding proper validation or you are considering the matter closed.

As other posters have stated NEVER CONTACT A COLLECTION AGENCY BY PHONE. They are not there to help you out, they are there to get paid. They don't care if the debt is not yours or if the amount is correct. Anyone who does would be fired in an hour.

And Josh, the "debt collection specialist" best of luck in the mailroom. I don't know if I would put that work experience on your resume. I know I would never hire anyone who came from a collection agency. And before you waste your time with a response, I have my degree and a high paying job. Save the banter for your "Debt Collection Specialist" position.

Kristy, you are correct to dispute the debt in writing within 30 days of receiving the letter. AFNI, like many other collection agencies tries underhanded and deceptive practices to collect debts, whether or not they are actually yours.

If you request validation from AFNI, chances are they will not provide you with a real validation on a debt that old. In which case you send another letter demanding proper validation or you are considering the matter closed.

As other posters have stated NEVER CONTACT A COLLECTION AGENCY BY PHONE. They are not there to help you out, they are there to get paid. They don't care if the debt is not yours or if the amount is correct. Anyone who does would be fired in an hour.

And Josh, the "debt collection specialist" best of luck in the mailroom. I don't know if I would put that work experience on your resume. I know I would never hire anyone who came from a collection agency. And before you waste your time with a response, I have my degree and a high paying job. Save the banter for your "Debt Collection Specialist" position.

Hi,

To give them a little grief, if you are the victim of these vultures, and really don't owe them anything- fight back.

Get any and all fax numbers, and write your letter, and them fax them relentlessly, to all numbers, all hours of the morning,weekend and night.

It works- they'll never want to hear your name again. Plus, make your website complaints, and fax copies of those too.

They'll soon stop with this nonsense, and rack up some nice fines too.

J

California

Well I noticed some great people are posting extensive contact information to help people in dealing with Afni.

In researching Afni's license in my state to collect on debts with the Department of Licensing, I came across the following:

Location Address:
1310 MARTIN LUTHER KING DR
BLOOMINGTON, IL, 61701

Mailing Address:
404 BROCK DR
BLOOMINGTON, IL, 61702


I had seen the Brock address before, but not the MLK address, so I wanted to let people know about it.

I would recommend that everyone check in their own states to see if they are licensed to collect. They may very well be (they are in Washington), but it's one avenue to explore.

I have sent off letters to the PO box and Brock addresses myself, and will now send one to the MLK.

I'll keep you posted on any new information or updates...

Well I noticed some great people are posting extensive contact information to help people in dealing with Afni.

In researching Afni's license in my state to collect on debts with the Department of Licensing, I came across the following:

Location Address:
1310 MARTIN LUTHER KING DR
BLOOMINGTON, IL, 61701

Mailing Address:
404 BROCK DR
BLOOMINGTON, IL, 61702


I had seen the Brock address before, but not the MLK address, so I wanted to let people know about it.

I would recommend that everyone check in their own states to see if they are licensed to collect. They may very well be (they are in Washington), but it's one avenue to explore.

I have sent off letters to the PO box and Brock addresses myself, and will now send one to the MLK.

I'll keep you posted on any new information or updates...

Well I noticed some great people are posting extensive contact information to help people in dealing with Afni.

In researching Afni's license in my state to collect on debts with the Department of Licensing, I came across the following:

Location Address:
1310 MARTIN LUTHER KING DR
BLOOMINGTON, IL, 61701

Mailing Address:
404 BROCK DR
BLOOMINGTON, IL, 61702


I had seen the Brock address before, but not the MLK address, so I wanted to let people know about it.

I would recommend that everyone check in their own states to see if they are licensed to collect. They may very well be (they are in Washington), but it's one avenue to explore.

I have sent off letters to the PO box and Brock addresses myself, and will now send one to the MLK.

I'll keep you posted on any new information or updates...

I contacted one of our local TV stations as a follow up to the ABC report last Friday nite about collection agency abusers. I specifically mentioned AFNI and Verizon .....

Hopefully, everyone reading these posts will do the same in their town.

By the way ... take a look at AFNI on budhibbs.com -

You can take the name "specialist" (as much as that impresses you) off your job title as that would imply that you are seasoned and well knowledged in your craft.
You are far from it. You are merely a collections lackey.

If you ever decide to read the FDCPA-which as a "specialist" you should have it memorized-perhaps you should copy this section and tape it to your cubicle.

" 809. Validation of debts [15 USC 1692g]

(a) Within five days after the initial communication with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt, a debt collector shall, unless the following information is contained in the initial communication or the consumer has paid the debt, send the consumer a written notice containing --

(1) the amount of the debt;

(2) the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed;

(3) a statement that unless the consumer, within thirty days after receipt of the notice, disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector;

(4) a statement that if the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, the debt collector will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against the consumer and a copy of such verification or judgment will be mailed to the consumer by the debt collector; and

(5) a statement that, upon the consumer's written request within the thirty-day period, the debt collector will provide the consumer with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor.

(b) If the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period described in subsection (a) that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, or that the consumer requests the name and address of the original creditor, the debt collector shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof, until the debt collector obtains verification of the debt or any copy of a judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy of such verification or judgment, or name and address of the original creditor, is mailed to the consumer by the debt collector.

(c) The failure of a consumer to dispute the validity of a debt under this section may not be construed by any court as an admission of liability by the consumer."

Notice the multiple times it mentions that THE DEBT COLLECTOR shall verify the debt. NO WHERE does it state that the alleged debtor has to PROVE they DON'T OWE IT. Just because a collection slug "says" someone owes money doesn't make it true.

If you decide to read some of the other complaints about these leaches, you will start to notice a pattern that people are being given an intentionally incorrect phone number as explained in this comlpaint: http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff232449.htm.
Why would an honest, upstanding company do that? Why are they trying to get people to enter SS numbers when they get to a website? Why not Afni's own account number assigned to the alleged debt? Or the alleged phone number that they are trying to collect on?

So pack up your "good old knowledge" and go back to school. We haven't even discussed the overinflation of any alleged debt owed-that's a whole other can of worms.

I am a medical professional (Post-doctoral Nurse Practitioner with excellent credit), but I have had to fight bottomfeeders in the past.

The aforementioned Boyajian sent me a collection notice for medical services in 2000...the physician he was supposedly collecting for had retired in the late 80s, passed away in the early 90s. We also recently had a phantom debt pop up, amazingly just after we prequalified to buy our new house...not only did we prove that "debt" to be total fiction, the bottomfeeder ended up paying our closing costs.

So, yes, you guys DO work fraudulent and fictious paper, and paper that is WAY beyond the Statute of Limitations. As Steve and others have said, time and time again, there is NOTHING good that will come from paying a bottomfeeder. I'm sorry that term offends you, but it what it is.

You are under the misconception that because you say someone owes something, it is the gospel. newsflash, Junior, it isn't.

I agree with all of you and definatley would be upset if I were in your shoes. The simple fact is I am just trying to give some advice from our side of the wall. Yes I do work as a Collections Specialist but am I proud of that?? No not really but it pays the bills and gets me through college. As you should know I am a student getting a degree in business admin and accounting so collections definatley is not my career and isn't a preferd job by choice.

I also do think that you do have the right to post whatever opinions you have wherever you deem fit that it needs to be posted. But at the same time, wouldn't you rather try to get to the bottom of this.

You did recieve a collections notice and if you know that it isn't you. call the number and see if it was fraud. What is that going to hurt, seriously? If its fraud, go to the website, print out the affidavit form and send it in, where it will be investigated. And as for my personal information. Really does that have anything to do with this at all? You can't just post someone's personal information on the website without their consent.

The Verizon scam is an old scam that was originated by JBC Legal and Boyajian Law Offices. They were trying to "collect" on Verizon accounts from the early 1990s..problem is, Verizon didn't exist until 2000. Being that Boyajian seems to be back under his rock somewhere, waiting for the heat on him to cool, I strongly suspect that a lot of the bogus paper your fine company is trying to collect on is from that source...worthless then and worthless now.

You state that you are a "collections specialist" for a bottomfeeder like that is something to be proud of....oy vey!

The collection agency is the one who has to provide proof that the debt is valid; not the debtor.

I would suspect that the wait on hold is a direct result of their recent purchase of all of these old and fraudulent Verizon accounts. There has probably been an influx of angry people attempting to call AFNI to find out just what the heck is going on. Either that or their employees use their time to respond to these angry posts rather than answering their phones.

Send your verification letter return receipt requested. If you Google "verification letter" it will bring up lots of good examples; use one of those for your reference.

Maybe this Joshua is one of these three that work for AFNI (both Colfax and Roanoke, Il are within 30 miles of Bloomington, IL):

JOSHUA D CUNNINGHAM
BLOOMINGTON , IL 61701


JOSHUA P STALEY
BLOOMINGTON , IL 61701

JOSHUA L THOMAS
COLFAX , IL 61728

Good Luck!

I am far from "irrational", but thank you for the concern. I am fully aware of the fact that Verizon is involved with companies of other names. As I stated, this was not my account, and not my debt. I think I would notice if I left a bill of $1400 unpaid. Also, if you took the time to read, you would have seen that I am fully aware of the need to have a written response and keep records, etc.

And wait on the line? Pardon me, but half an hour minimum is an absolutely laughable and absurd waiting time for a business to have on it's phone lines. And, those calls do nothing to help a consumer, especially if they are dealing with a collection company not willing to recognize an error in it's billing. The only thing that will help a consumer if it comes to the point of taking an issue before a court is having written documentation. The first rule of handling these issues is, in my opinion, NEVER handle anything on the phone. If any debt is owed and the debt is valid, a reputable collection agency will never have an issue sending documentation in the mail.

Lastly, I should wait on hold rather than post on a web site? I can't even express how wrong that is. I have every right to share an experience, and find out how far the issue reaches, and other people's experiences with a company. Knowledge is always power, and I will always speak up. It's not a choice between sitting on a phone like a potato for over half an hour, staring into space, or posting on a web site. In fact, I have managed to call more times than I can count, check the web site, send two letters, AND post! Shocking...

Are you serious or did you just fall and bump your head?? WOW!! I bet if the tables were turned and you were the one to have a bogus bill affect your credit score you wouldn't be calling innocent victims "irrational"! This is not a legit debt collection agency...they are scam artists taking advantage of good citizens.I don't know...maybe you can't read or something, and as far as it not making sense to get on here to share our opinion about this lowlife company, why are you sharing your opinion?? The advice you give is good if it comes from a legitimate collection agency and for a legitimate debt, BUT these people ARE NOT on the up & up.
Daniel
Clinton,Ut

Well don't you know that verizon wasn't always the name of the company and did you call in to the company to see what the date of the bill was? Instead of getting irrational why don't you get the cold hard facts from the company and see if it was a bill in your name at the time or if it was a fraudlant account. I mean the company is only doing it's job, regardless if it's a collections agency or not. It's not like they are the root to all evils here.

The lines to the company are extremely busy and yes it will take some time to get through. The best time to reach them is in the middle of the day, that seems to be the time of the day when call volume is at it's least, but you'll still have atleast a 30 minute waite.

But I can guarantee you waiting on the line to get the bill rectified is going to make alot more sense than getting onto a website and sharing your opinion about a bill you really don't know anything about, right?

So my suggestion is to contact them and sure write the dispute letter within 30 days but if you don't provide documentation showing that it is not a valid bill the debt is validated within 30 days and a VE letter is sent out to you stating that the bill is still owed. I'm just giving you my good old knowledge as for I am a Collections specialist. they are more than willing to work on getting the matter taken care of but at the same time it does take the consumers cooperation as well.