Helig Meyers/Palisades Collections Companies being "Out of Business" doesn't stop criminal identity theft Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey

I purchased a washer and dryer through Helig Meyers back in 1996 making the minimum monthly payments. I received a letter l(not sure what year) stating the company had gone out of business, so I contacted an attorney to see if I still owed money to a company that no longer exists. He said if I had not heard from a collection agency in 60 days stating they took over my account prior to the termination of the business, then I do not owe them the money. In 2005 I received a call from collections  for $350. I told them to come and get the washer and dryer because I wasn't paying a company that doesn't exist and a collection agency that never contacted me by mail with all the information in years. They declined. Since 2005, I have received 3 letters from Palisades Collections with different account numbers, different balances owed, and different contact numbers. In 2010, I called the one number and it was a home phone of someone and their child answered the call. Just yesterday I received a letter from Palisades offering an 800 number or web site to pay the balance of $335.08. Not gonna happen. I no longer have possession of the washer and dryer due to it repeatedly breaking down.