Dave Ramsey says you do NOT have to talk to these people. So, don’t!
P.S. And don’t get yourself INTO this kind of trouble in the first place.
I got myself into trouble with debt collectors by getting a phone number which happened to belong to a deadbeat prior. For 11 years criminals, neer do wells, sphincters and various other riff raff have been calling for ‘Maria’ who I do not know. If I bother talking to them and tell them they have the wrong number they are typically rude and merely sell my number on down the food chain - they are thieves to each other. I don’t bother talking to them anymore and haven’t in years.
Getting another number may well just trade this problem for a different set.
I do not want my tax dollars wasted on an industry so rife with crooks.
Obviously, do the best you can to stay out of debt. However, if you should get into debt, never, ever, ever deal with debt collectors. If a debt collector should buy your debt, and actually sues you, file a simple answer to the lawsuit — you can find the forms online — and wait to see if the debt collector takes it past that point. (NEVER ignore an actual lawsuit, or the plaintiff may get a default judgment against you and drain your bank account, garnish your wages, etc.) If you file an answer and the debt collector does get a court date, THEN retain a lawyer. Let your LAWYER negotiate a settlement, and make sure the lawyer stipulates that the debt is not re-aged. (It's now illegal to re-age debt, meaning to restart the statute of limitations on debts after payments begin again, but it happens all the time. So be sure to press the issue with your lawyer before you agree to any settlement)
Repeat: individuals NEVER should talk to debt collectors.