Medical bills are probably the number one reason.
I got hit with some ugly bills two years ago and the follow up treatments continued on until about a month ago. I should be all paid up in about a month. But I think I will NEVER stop recieving letters and phone calls from debt collection agencies regarding balances that are obviously fraudulent. I really don’t know what to do about that. In fact I just got off my CELL PHONE 5 minutes ago with a “credit management” firm from OUT OF STATE claiming to have three accounts with my name on them. They didn’t know where I live. They wanted to know my employer and my social security number. The caller ID said “RESTRICTED”.
What is this crap?
One time a guy called wanting me to meet him in a parking lot to get a check from me to pay for his “credit restoring” services.
“But I think I will NEVER stop recieving letters and phone calls from debt collection agencies regarding balances that are obviously fraudulent.”
Make these ‘collectors’ provide you with the proof that you really owe the debt. If they cannot provide that, you don’t owe it and that will stand in court.
I don't understand. Do they just make up the hospital, clinic, doctor and service apparently provided? Do they claim the balance of some account has been sold to them, while you actually paid that balance?
O! The horror!
I hear these stories every day. These outfits buy and sell old debt, and alleged debt, whether it’s real or not. A Judge told me that they even sell discharged debt for like $0.035 on the dollar on Wall Street. It’s illegal to collect but many folks pay just to stop the battle.
But there are a lot of neurotic, petty, vindictive “consumers” out there who feel entitled to The Best and intend to get it even if they can’t afford it.
You might benefit from a bankruptcy if only for peace of mind. I won’t give you legal advice for several reasons, but you may benefit by speaking with with a good lawyer. So keep your powder dry and your scouts out; don’t stop contesting erroneous facts.
What you do with bills of that type is tell them to send you a verification of debt. In other words copies of any papers you supposedly signed that make you liable for any debt. Tell them to produce or quit or you will sue them into the next century. They sill stop.
Companies of this type hope you will send one payment and then they can use that as proof that you actually owed the money, otherwise you wouldn't have sent a payment would you?
About as crooked a scheme as a person can come up with but unfortunately the world is full of crooks.