Are You SURE You Owe That Money?

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Okay a heads up folks. I think at one time or another we have been plagued by being hounded for old debts and been hassled by numerous phone calls or getting letters from those annoying debt collector agencies. It could be an old, old debt from years ago that may be still "haunting" you. But do you REALLY owe it? Many of the debt collection agencies out there are nothing but scams, and they often will even hound a person relentlessly for an old debt that was already paid. If you keep getting a phone call by any debt agency, do some homework and research first. I have my answering machine on 24/7 and it acts like a Caller ID for me, as it allows me to at least know who is calling. Well tonight, I got a call from Portfolio Recovery, and yup a debt collection agency. I was planning on calling them tomorrow but then thought...whoa, let me look them up and sure enough I found them, but I also found out that they are one of the biggest scam agencies going. Here's an article I found about them, but let me quote from it as well here. (quote) [i]Portfolio Recovery Associates has a disturbing and unethical history of Junk Debt Collection Practices, Now being investigated by The Federal Trade Commission. Such practices violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that was passed in 1977 to protect consumers from abusive debt collectors such as Portfolio Recovery Associates. Example One: Portfolio Recovery Associates will do a Hard Inquiry on an individual via a credit reporting agency such as Trans Union without the consent or authorization of that individual. Generally a Hard Inquiry is not allowable for JUNK DEBT (A debt that has passes beyond the statute of limitation in your state) Example Two: Portfolio Recovery Associates knowingly and illegally use Coercion and/or blackmail to manipulate individuals into believing they are legally liable for a JUNK DEBT. Remember, a JUNK DEBT is NO LONGER Legally Collectable. If You are being contacted by Portfolio Recovery Associates via phone? DO NOT ENGAGE IN ANY CONVERSATION WHAT SO EVER. DO NOT IDENTIFY YOURSELF - USE A PHONE ANSWERING MACHINE TO ANSWER ALL YOUR CALLS - YOUR GREETING SHOULD NOT IDENTIFY YOU OR YOU, LAST NAME ETC. - Example Three: Portfolio Recovery Associates and other JUNK DEBT Collectors will try to engage an individual to start making good faith payments on a JUNK DEBT (A debt that has passed beyond the statute of limitation in your state and is NO LONGER Legally Collectable) These Good Faith Payments might be next to nothing of an already discounted debt. Why? Because as soon as you agree to make those next to nothing payments... IT BECOMES A NEW AND LEGALLY BINDING DEBT.. THAT MEANS IT GOES ON YOUR CREDIT REPORT AND IT CAN BE COLLECTED IN A COURT OF LAW OR OTHER MEANS AVAILABLE to these JUNK DEBT BOTTOM FEEDERS. [/i] So in other words...if you contact these people and make good faith payments on an old debt that might NOT even be valid anymore, once you make even one single payment, then it becomes a legally binding debt that you then have to pay in full. Okay I have to admit, I do have an old debt with AT&T (I now use Verizon for my phone) but the so-called statue of limitation on this debt is long over with...in other words I no longer am legally obligated to pay it....now if I had made a phone call to this debt collection agency as I had originally planned on doing...bingo I'd be then legally obligated to pay the debt. Now..and this is VERY important!! If you truly want to find out if you do indeed owe ANY old, outstanding debts, here's how you can find out. GET YOUR CREDIT REPORT! And I found out where you can get your full credit report for one hundred percent free. I looked up the Financial Guru Suzie Orman's website...she has one section all about getting one's credit report absolutely free and you don't have to pay one cent for it...once you get the report, say from Equifax, it's available on-line for viewing for one full month, and one also has the option of printing up the entire thing..I did Here is the Suzie Orman link http://www.suzeorman.com/igsbase/igstemplate.cfm?SRC=MD012&SRCN=aoedetails&GnavID=84&SnavID=20&TnavID=&AreasofExpertiseID=154 Scroll down and you will see the link that will lead you on the road to getting your credit report for free. Once you have your report, there is a section you can click that says "Collections" which means it will show up any old debts listed with debt collectors....and guess what? When I searched for my own old debts such as that old AT&T debt..IT WASN'T THERE, and NO mentioning of Portfolio Recovery. Conclusions: It's an old, old debt whose statue of limitations has run out and I no longer owe that money...if I had, it would have been listed...so the whole Portfolio Recovery Collection agency is truly a scam The only reason I'm passing this info to you is let's face it...if one is being hounded by debt collectors we might panic thinking OMG I owe that money...but like I said the best way to find out if you do...get that credit report. {Warning: The link provided are NOT referral links but links to the articles involved with this discussion}