Afni,inc Huge SCAM--was sent a letter stating I owe money to Verizon California, Inc. Bloomington Illinois

As I reported in an earlier report, Afni sent me a bill from 13 years ago. They said it was from Sprint.

Not only did I never have an account with Sprint, but 13 years ago I was still living at home. When I called Sprint, they said they had no record of my name in past accounts. That took away the ID theft possibility.

Don't trust Afni. I learned first hand that they do create bogus collections.

Thank you for the update, Christopher. It looks like Afni has garnered enough capital and reputation to begin collecting on "legitimate" debts.

I want to clear up something on the "validation" front, however.

The FDCPA gives a debtor 30 days, from the time of the first written notice, to request validation of the debt. If your request is made past this thirty days, the agency is not required to provide you with validation.

However, you can DISPUTE the validity of a debt at any time. When you send a notice of dispute and request for investigation, the collection agency is required to do three things: 1) they must cease all collection activities until the dispute is resolved; 2) they must perform an investigation to determine whether or not the debt is legitimate; and 3) they must report, to any credit reporting agency that the debt has been referred to, that the debt is in dispute.

The first two requirements are found in the FDCPA. THe third is in the FCRA. Each of these Acts provide for actual damages (the amount of money you lost due to the violation, including inflated interest rates on loans); statutory damages of up to $1000, and attorney's fees.

I always advise my clients to file disputes. Requests for validation get you nowhere.

Thank you for the update, Christopher. It looks like Afni has garnered enough capital and reputation to begin collecting on "legitimate" debts.

I want to clear up something on the "validation" front, however.

The FDCPA gives a debtor 30 days, from the time of the first written notice, to request validation of the debt. If your request is made past this thirty days, the agency is not required to provide you with validation.

However, you can DISPUTE the validity of a debt at any time. When you send a notice of dispute and request for investigation, the collection agency is required to do three things: 1) they must cease all collection activities until the dispute is resolved; 2) they must perform an investigation to determine whether or not the debt is legitimate; and 3) they must report, to any credit reporting agency that the debt has been referred to, that the debt is in dispute.

The first two requirements are found in the FDCPA. THe third is in the FCRA. Each of these Acts provide for actual damages (the amount of money you lost due to the violation, including inflated interest rates on loans); statutory damages of up to $1000, and attorney's fees.

I always advise my clients to file disputes. Requests for validation get you nowhere.

There have been many postings and rebuttals on this board regarding the fact that this company buys and attempts to collect on extremely old, out of SOL debts from credit card companies, telecoms, wireless providers, etc. While this charge continues to be true, please take note of the following:

AFNI is now buying debts that are anywhere from 3 months to 3 years old in addition to the old, out of SOL debts that they previously bought. These debts include charges for live telecom accounts that were, due to regulatory rules, separated from the live account and collected separately from the regulated charges.

What differentiates these accounts from the previous batch of out of SOL debts is the fact that these debts can actually be validated, making the previous advice provided by many in this forum - which was to send one Cease Communications letter, RRR - a fast path to a lawsuit which will now be won by the collection agency when they show up in court with a valid copy of your billing statement.

Keep in mind that legally AFNI still is required by law to validate any debt they are collecting on - so make them send you an extensive billing history for any account they claim they have of yours before you pay anything.

The purpose of this posting is not to advocate on behalf of AFNI. It is to warn consumers who may have read about or received the advice of some on this board who claim that AFNI only buys old, out of SOL debt. This is no longer the case - and consumers need to educate themselves regarding the proper way to handle themselves should they receive ANY letter from this company. As always, your comments are welcome and encouraged.

Things to do:

FIRST - Read the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act at http://ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm.

SECOND - send a certified letter, return receipt requested, to the DEBT COLLECTOR to dispute the debt and request written validation of the debt or any copy of a judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy of such validation or judgment, or name and address of the original creditor. Also, include a statement stating that you do not wish to be contacted again until you receive all the written debt validation information you have requested. You may also request that they explain the following:

What the money they say you owe is for;
Explain and show you how they calculated what they say you owe;
Provide you with copies of any papers that show you agreed to pay what they say you owe;
Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable;
Identify the original creditor;
Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account;
Show you that they are licensed to collect in your state;
Provide you with their license numbers and/or license numbers of their Registered Agent(s).

THIRD - Once you received the written validation information requested, contact the CREDITOR (who owns the debt) via certified mail to resolve the matter.

It is important that communication between you and this debt collector be in WRITING! So, I wouldn't not talk to them, EXCEPT to obtain an address for sending a certified, return receipt requested letter to dispute and demand validation of this alleged debt.

Good Luck.