They keep calling me for someone I do not know who has the same last name as mine.

1-866-882-5878 they call me several times, it's for the person who had the number before me. I just (hopefully) took care if it

These idiots have been calling my number for at least 8 months now sometimes 2 or 3 times a day.I have blocked those numbers but sometimes  they manage to get my answer machine telling me they are a collection agency.I DO NOT owe anyone!!! The numbers they use are as follows:
1-903-891-1077
1-903-891-1101
1-903-891-1390
1-903-891-1066
1-891-891-1002
They also asked to return the call to 1-866-882-5878 which is in CANADA !

Billman,

Then I have ques for u. Why do I call 2 other credit agencies and ask if they have the same debt west asset reported on my credit. Their words, " we have no idea what your talking abt nor do we have an accnt wth that name and amt ever being in our sysytem. Funny part is west asset sent me a letter saying they purchased my collection accnt frm AFNI, and ERS SOLUTIONS, NEITHER COMPANIES have me in tjeir system.  I have EVERY BILL, EVERY PAYMENT FRM THE DEBT YOU GUYS ARE ALLEGING ISNT PAID. LOL HELL I EVEN OVERPAID, AND WAS SENT A $40 check by the utility company......you guys are not out to help anyone.....your crooks that bully hard working people and screw up our credit

Ok so I am a collector for West and we can call you at work but if you cant get calls at work just tell us. AND we do not demand your SSN we have iqt in front of us we just need you to verify yourself because we cant talk to yo until you do ITS THE LAW!!! If you call in we have to have some way to look up your acct so thats why we ask who you are and your SSN...you can also just tell us the number we called yoyu at and that will make your acct coe up as well. Why do you people think we are out to get you??? i dont understnd, i help people resolve their debt every day by working with them based on their financial situation...now if you make 5,000.00 a month dont expect us to let you pay 25.00 a month, that is retarted. Would you want someone paying you 25 a month on a 5,000.00 bill if you know they make tons of money every month.....NO WAY right? And why do people call and cuss at us you know we can see where your calling from when you do that and most of the time your acct pops up and we have to notate what you said...The hospital reads our notes because we work directly with them....GREAT IMPRESSION ON THE PEOPLE THAT ARE THERE TO SAVE YOUR LIFE IF YOU NEED IT!!!

It is inexcusable for some of you to degrade and insult others. We are all human beings, who deserve decency and respect, irregardless of whether a bill is unpaid or not.  Sadly, people hide behind their computers and say such horrible, nasty, things, without a hint of conscience. I believe it's referred to as, "CyberBullying."

Why are you trying to ruin me? I don't know who you are and do not owe any money to you. In the name of Christ or who ever you believe in, please stop.

wendy Wigney

No, you're an idiot!

How ironic that you call someone else an idiot when you are so stupid that you do not even have basic knowledge of the english language!

Christ said "be content with what you have" America stands for just the opposit that's why there will always be debt collectors...we want what we can't have....that's why there is credit...to let us think we can...have anything...

paying your bill is not the only way to stop a debt collector; there are several. One a "cease and desist" letter will do the trick(in most cases). Two; written dispute will cease calls while dispute is being resolve or the rquest to validate the debt like whys will by you time and if they can't they can't collect!
Then of course bankruptcy is another solution.
finally every thing in life is negoitable..try settle the debt for less than thew full balance.

they do not have to "validate" a debt per phone request..you must request in writing. By the way they can attempt to contact (via automation even) as many times a day as they like until they make contact w/ debtor once this is done they can not recontact you the same day unless you indicate(ie call me this afternoon,,i'm busy now) ...Unfortantly the law is not overly zealous in the prevention of the "collateral" damage done by wrong num or wrong party contact.
One other note: ALL collection companies and most origanal creditors take full advantage of peoples' poor record keeping!  Keep all receipts including any "explanation of benifits" (EOB's) records sent by insurance companies..these eob's are in essance your receipts in the payment of medical bills.

if your were a debtor and didn't want to pay but wanted the calls to stop;
how about calling them up and saying they got a wrong number...way too easy to defraud the collector(they are not dumb)....so if they truely have a wrong num..write them and send proof (like a phone bill) to prove that its your number not the party they are attempting to "dunn".

They collect on a lot of things, not just medical, somebody has to, or else the deadbeats of the world would never be held accountable.

West has a competitive pay rate, insurance, paid holidays and paid time off after 90 days of employment, and do you have any idea how much money debt collection puts back into the economy every year.........check it out sometime

I pay my bills, nothing on my credit report and I don't hide behind lies and YES I work for WEST, and I LOVE my job............

and they will find other ways to contact you, they have the right

So you really want something that small sitting on your credit report.

Unfortunately if you signed as the responsible party then they are probably able to report it. Provide them documetation that you were unerage at the time of service. If all else fails, pay the bill, afterall you did receive services and the hospital does deserve to be paid...... you don't get grocerires and not pay for them.

Get the hospital to write you something saying it was written off, afterall they are the ones that turned it over for collection.

Provide them PROOF, get documetation from the insurance and the hospital concerned, they can't just take your say so that it was paid, otherwise everyone would just say it was paid. Send it certified mail so that you have a receipt that it was received. Don't just assume that the hospital will take care of it.

Putting it in writing does greatly reduce the chances that they will stop calling but I suggest mailing your request, certified mail so you have a confirmation that it was received.

They have every right to call between the hours of 8 am and 9 pm, some collectors are over zealous but not all of them, once they make contact with you they won't continue to call that day and in most cases it will slow down the calls all together.

Be polite and next time ask to speak to a Lead or Manager and explain the issue to them, again it is not their intent to harrass people who do not owe their clients money.

By law they are required to verify that they are speaking to the correct party, you can verify with a date of birth in most cases, however if you are calling in they either need the number they called or a ss# in order to pull the call up. Quite often people do owe bills that they are not aware of. People tend to throw bills away thinking "I have insurance" but ultimately it is your responsibility to follow up and see that insurance pays the bill.

Do not call list does not apply to debt collection. They use an automated system to call and by law can oly let it ring a certain number of times. That is why sometjimes there isn't a person on the line, if it is not you let them know it is a wrong number and ask to remove it from that file, sometimes a number may be the same in several files or a person may have files in seperate departments so it often takes several times to get the number removed, they are a legitimate business and are not intending to harrass people who do not owe their clients money.Keep in mind they have the necessary tools at their disposal to skip trace a number and see if someone is not being truthful when you tell them it's a wrong number....... ultimately if you do owe a debt make arrangements to pay even if it is only $5.00 a month.

You should do more research on the bill. Maybe Sprint didn't close your account down correctly. Be polite and have a conversation with the collector and you will learn a ton.

Of course but pay your bill and take responsbility and there wouldn't be any problems. Set up a payment arrangement and stick to it. People complain about bill collectors but in all reality you keep them in business!!!!

Wrong!

Well said!!!

Why dont you talk to your parents. If the bill is from Aug of 07 and you are posting in 07 it must not be that old. Grow up hunny and talk to your parents!