Got my number from a family member, constantly calling for that family member.  They also use the number 1-800-694-4157.

Called did not leave a message. I called the number and found out who they are.

> "You can dispute it ... but saying you dispute it is NOT going to make it go away."

Actually, it might.  If the creditor-plaintiff has no proof of the debt and it becomes a hissing (try a different starting letter) match between the debtor-defendant, in court, the creditor-plaintiff has the burden of production and of proof of the debt and of the amount of the debt.  If he can't come up with these things, the debtor-defendant wins.  And if the case was decided on substantive grounds (such as lack of evidence) and is not appealed (or the appeal is lost), the debt cannot be relitigated anywhere.  Look up "res judicata."

That would effectively result in a judgment that no debt exists and extinguish any claim by the creditor-plaintiff that it did.

In other words, if the creditor-plaintiff does not produce proof of the debt itself and of the amount in court when required to do so, the debt, if it ever existed at all, *would* go away.

If I am wrong, then you owe me a debt of $10,000 that is NEVER going to go away no matter how or how much you dispute it. And if I take you to court, it will be your word against mine, and I'll ALWAYS win.

But no lawyer wanting to retain his or her license and wanting to avoid personal, non-reimbursable sanctions would ever bring such a case if he realized there was no proof of a debt or of its amount.

Yef, I'm going even further than you are.  Even disregarding the FDCPA, when someone sues you over a debt or, for that matter, almost anything else that does not provide for statutory damages, that person (the plaintiff) has both the burden of proof AND the burden of production to show damages.  That means the burden is on the plaintiff to both show that you owe a debt in the first place, and to produce evidence of damages, I.e., the amount of the debt.  If the plaintiff fails to produce either, it's just their word against yours, and they will lose.  The only exceptions, based upon my watching Judge Judy, are loans between friends and family members where the amount is admitted, but the terms of an oral contract, if that's really what it is, are being disputed, such as whether it really was a gift rather than a loan.  In that case, though, I'm not sure that it *IS* a real exception.

If it helps at all, a company I used to work for was sued for over $30 MILLION dollars recently, and I was summoned as a witness (not as a party).  I was actually deposed at an attorney's office and called to be a witness in the case, but there never was a trial.  The plaintiff failed to offer competent evidence to prove the amount of his damages or that any damages were sustained at all and the case was thrown out by summary judgment by the judge before ever making it to trial.  There was an appeal, but it didn't get very far, and now the case is really and truly dead.

I will admit that this case did not involve a loan, but I think it is illustrative of what happens in real cases when you are a plaintiff and fail to produce adequate evidence to support your case, even prior to trial.  Judges do not like to listen to hissing matches.  And I'm not really referring to hissing.

Obviously, you shouldn't take legal advice from someone anonymously posting a message on the Internet, if for no other reason than that you get what you pay for.  (In this case, nothing.) You shouldn't even necessarily take it at face value.  But if you have any doubt, ask your own attorney.

Of course a debt, if legitimate, doesn't go away when the alleged debtor disputes it.  Nobody is saying that.  But a written dispute letter, sent certified-mail does require the collection agency to obey the FDCPA and provide validation of the debt.  Too many of these so-called debt collectors have no intention of obeying the law and validating the debt.  When they refuse, they are breaking the law and it is safe to assume they are scam artists who do not deserve to be paid one red cent.

Well, Nonie Mouse, I wish you luck then.  You can dispute in verbally,in writing,  or however you please, but if you owe a debt, saying you dispute it is NOT going to make it go away.

In the US, the plaintiff is the party with the burden of proof.  If it is only the plaintiff's word against the defendant's word, guess who wins and who gets fined by the court for bringing a frivolous lawsuit?

The problem with this is you have no proof, nothing in writing, and it is your word against theirs, and I guarantee in a court of law, without written documentation, they will prevail

BTW, everyone.....My lawyer friend makes this suggestion:
If EVER contacted by a reputed collection agency or law firm, and you have answered the call or letter...immediately tell them you DISPUTE the entire affair and they must provide you with Proof and documentation.
They will try to claim they do not, and will claim you do not have this right, and then try to pass you off to another agency.
But by law...this is any US consumer's right. If they deny it, ask to speak to a supervisor.
If you still get nowhere, before ending the call just tell them that, on their record, you have disputed the collection claim and have been informed by their company that they will NOT provide documentation as required by law; tell them you need not take any further steps or make any further replies; and should anything appear on your credit report, their company becomes legally liable.

Repeated calls, no voicemails left....does seem like a collection agency to me, because apparently my name is identical to someone else's who owes a lotta $ to cred card co's.  But I find it odd, because most collection agencies will leave their information on voicemail.

no message left

Caller wanted to talk to someone that doesnt live here anymore, said they would take my number off their call list. Then asked me for the number of the person they were trying to reach, when I refused to give number, they said that they wouldnt take my number off their list since i refused to give them phone number.

These are collection agents and not nice ones. Do not respond to thier calls. Try to call from a pay phone they will catch your number with called ID or other "last call" ID options so they will 'steal' it if you don't provide it. Put call blocks on if possible should you do call from you phone. Read up on proper rules and regualtions legitimate collection agents are to follow and use them to your advantage. If they have taged on to you/your phone number and it's not you they are obligated to stop after notification. If they do not you can sue them for harrasment.

Message was to call this number, woman answered, would not povide information on company "Captial Management Services".  Would not answr any questions as to who they were or what they did.  Very suspicious.