This all started last Friday, March 27th, 2009. I had received a letter from Afni, Inc., a "Settlement Offer" from an old account I had with Verizon Northwest, Inc. (residential phone line).

We are making another attempt to contact you regarding your overdue account. In an effort to resolve this matter we will accept $215.19, 25% of the current amount due. Once paid, our records will reflect the status of your account with Afni, Inc., as settled in full. This is an attempt to collect a debt. Any information obtained will be used for that purpose. You have the right to inspect your credit. This is a letter from a debt collector.

Now, here is where I was confused. Yes, I had a residential line with Verizon Northwest, Inc. in 2000-2001. It was ran up by my roommate in my name and I owed them $860.75. I paid settled this account in 2002 and it was paid off. So when I received this on Friday, I thought this had to be a mistake.

So I called Afni, Inc. on Saturday. They explained that this money was still due. After letting them know that this account had been paid off years ago, they asked me to send them the receipt. Here's where it gets hairy. I purged those receipts because they were over 7 years old. Afni, Inc. said that if I can't prove this was paid, I will have to pay them the money they allege I owe.

So yesterday, I call Verizon Northwest and find out why I am still reflecting money due. Mind you, this collection account has never shown up on my credit report, never received any correspondence from this, or any other company regarding this debt. This is the first notice I've received regarding this old account from 2001. I have been actively trying to get my credit in order since 2004 by paying off old collection accounts and clearing old debt from my report. After speaking with Verizon, they have no record of me owning any money to Verizon for this account. It shows in their database as being paid.

After explaining to Verizon that Afni won't believe me that this money has been paid, I asked Verizon to conference over to Afni so we can talk to them together and get this all straightened out. At that point, speaking with Afni, with Verizon listening in, Afni explained that since I purged my receipts, I cannot prove that this money has been paid, and therefore I will have no choice but to pay them or I will have this collection "hit" my credit.

Yes, I was just threatened by Afni at this point, with Verizon as a verbal witness.

And the burden of proof is on my shoulders, according to Afni. Mind you, they have no proof that I even owe this money but suggested I call the post office and order a trace on a money order I paid in 2002. I asked how exactly I can do this when I have no money order number, or the exact date that it was paid (let alone does the Post Office even have these records after all this time???).

This is where the scam part comes in. When I was trying to find Verizon's number to call them yesterday morning, I came across this site called "Rip-Off Report" where an almost identical situation occurred with a lady regarding an old account.

Out of the blue I received this so called 'settlement offer' from afni inc. collections. They state they are making ANOTHER attempt to collect $1221.65 for Verizon Northwest Inc. on a non-verizon phone number I had closed the account on 12 years ago when I moved away from that city! WTF??? They have MY name, MY social security

number. 1st thing odd of course is the amount. 2nd thing odd is that it is so outdated. 3rd thing is that it is for a phone number I really used to have, and closed out when we sold the house.

So now I'm starting to get pissed. I start researching further and found this blog showing that they have been doing this for a while.

If you’ve come across this blog after searching for "Afni Collections" or "Afni Collections, Inc." because you think that you’re being scammed after receiving a collections notice for a telecommunications company such as Verizon, you’ve come to the right Website. Before I explain the purpose of this site, however, I have to say something to you immediately: Do not pay a single cent to Afni Collections, Inc.



Located in Bloomington, Illinois, Afni Collections, Inc. has been sending fake collection notices to people all over the United States—possibly even to Canada—hoping that someone is willing to take the bait and give them money that isn’t actually owed. In some cases the bill had been a legitimate one many years ago but has since been paid off; in other cases—myself included—Afni sent collection notices for Verizon bills that simply never existed in the first place. "Lying to consumers about debts they don’t owe and harassing and threatening them when they don’t pay are illegal business practices, period," Lydia Parnes, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said on the FTC website. "We will aggressively pursue companies that use these tactics to extort money from consumers." At ripoffreport.com, Afni is well known. We found about 255 reports from consumers throughout the country who have been in situations similar to yours. Afni asks them to pay bills dating back to the 1990s from different Verizon companies. Many of the consumers said that when they protested, the collection agency backed off. "We sue [Afni] all the time for failing to abide by the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Debt and Collection Practices Act," Miami consumer lawyer Samira Ghazal said.

My blood pressure starts to rise. I've have been scammed! Here this company sent me what looked like a valid collection notice for an account that has been paid. Even after I've told them that Verizon does not show money owed, they still threatened to go after me if I don't pay them.

This morning I filed a complaint against them to the Federal Trade Commission and have send them a certified letter explaining that I do not owe this money and the burden of proof will be on them to show me that this debt is real:

To whom it may concern: This letter is being sent to formally dispute the validity of an alleged debt, in its entirety, of $860.75 from a creditor known as "Verizon Northwest, Inc." for an alleged disconnected telephone number of "(xxx) xxx-xxxx". Pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, I am formally requesting validation—in full—of the alleged debt on which you are attempting to collect. At this time, Verizon does not have any records of me owing any monies from past due accounts. Be aware that this letter is not a request for address validation; this letter is to formally dispute the validity of the alleged debt that is listed on the collection notice and demand that the debt validation is provided to me, by you, in its entirety in accordance with both federal and [my state] state laws. All communications and correspondence pertaining to this matter are to be carried out via the United States Postal Service at the mailing address found below and not by way of telephone, e-mail, or any form of electronic communication. All forms of correspondence pertaining to this matter received at and sent from said mailing address have and will be photocopied and retained for any and all future legal proceedings if necessary. My specific dispute with the Afni Collections, Inc. alleged debt is based on the fact that I did in fact pay off this account to Verizon Northwest, Inc. and settled for an amount due in 2002. Be advised that the hardcopy and photocopies of the Afni Collections, Inc. collection notice and all future documentation pertaining to this matter have and will be retained and/or photocopied for use by my attorney and each agency that I am contacting regarding this situation. I have also documented all phone conversations as well and will continue to keep records of all phone calls made/received by your company. Furthermore, I have already been made aware of these types of scams your company runs to try to extort money from unsuspecting customers. I have contacted the FTC on this matter and filed a complaint against your company. If I continue to be harrassed by your company, I will be forced to file suit for your fraudulent and illegal activities. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Anyway, thanks for reading. I feel that I should get the word out to all you guys since I know now that this is not an isolated incident. Take care you guys. With most of us being held hostage by our credit scores/reports, I take this kind of illegal activity very seriously as does the FTC.

Thanks,

MT

UPDATE: Thank you all for reading and recommending this diary. I really wanted you all to know what is going on and really appreciate Dkos support on my first diary on the rec list! Thank you for posting your comments and stories. You all have been so helpful.

As I said in my comment below (possibly buried), I have become literally sick because of this. I lost 5 pounds in two days from lost sleep and stress. I can't eat, I can't focus on school. This has made me so upset and frustrated, even talking about it makes my hands shake and my heart race. I've spent yesterday trying to recover from panic attacks and even reading it again now brings all those feelings back.

I want to sue them for causing all this distress. But in the mean time, I will contact my State Attorney General, I've reported them to the Federal Trade Commission (above) and will continue to log and keep records of all contact until this has been resolved.

Thank you again and take care. We all need to be diligent in our credit ratings. Especially when we are held hostage by these ratings.

MT

UPDATE #2: After reading through all the comments (finally!) I wanted to update with some important facts:

Verizon admitted they do not show this account as being outstanding or that there is any money past due.

Verizon suggested I only speak with Afni regarding this matter. They did not offer any help and would not send me anything showing that this account has been paid in full. I'm suspecting they are "in bed" with these goons.

This past account NEVER showed up on my credit report. Let me say this again: This was never on my credit report. The reason being that this was paid off in 2002. Afni is alleging that they have had this in their collections since 2001. The account was closed in late 2001, paid in 2002 to a company called Pinnacle Financial. Afni is full of shit.

Afni never proved to me that they are authorized to collect this debt for Verizon. This is where I suspected fraudulent activities. If I pay the $215 to Afni, it will do nothing. It won't change anything since I don't owe Verizon anything. It won't reflect my credit report since it was never on my credit report. Afni admitted that they have only performed "inquiries" on my credit report. The same "inquiries" credit card companies send out when they are using those "pre-approved" letters.

So, this is what I've done so far: I've sent Afni a certified letter stating they have 30 days to provide proof of money owed (plus much more legal jargon). I've filed a complaint against Afni with the FTC. I've filed a mail fraud complaint against Afni to the USPS. And plan on contacting both my state Attorney General's office and the Illinois Attorney General's office regarding this matter.

I really appreciate all your comments and helpful advice/links, etc. Seeing some of you with the same letters out there is just scary, but shows that this is a nationwide scam that needs to be addressed.

I will let you guys know when I hear back. Thanks, MT