Do NOT send them or any collections agency money.  Paying a collections agency doesn't do any good because your credit is already tarnished, and most of them don't report it as paid.  If they do report payment, they flag your credit that it was settled which looks like you barely pay your bills in the eyes of lenders, so you pretty much paid your debt only to have the statute of limitations reset so it's 7 more years of having the abomination on your credit.  

Most of them also sell the debt and intentionally leave it on your credit to make it look like you have more collections accounts than you really do.  They will add a small fee to the amount you originally owe so that they are different balances (credit agency will delete duplicate accounts), making it a headache for you to remove from your credit because you now have to prove that it's a duplicate debt.  They will also omit the original creditor's name which adds to the headache of proving the duplicate.

Do not argue with them, as most of them our of revenge, will refresh the debt on your credit so that you have it on your credit an additional 7 years, instead of the original date the debt got charged off.  Just do not answer.  Period.  Create a contact in your phone as Do Not Answer and save their # and set that contact to silent.  Some phones allow you to send some contacts directly to voice mail.

If you DO owe money, call the creditor directly and work with them.  If they insist on you working with the collection agency, ask to speak to a supervisor or hang up and call back until you get someone who will set up a payment plan.  Majority of the bigger creditors (AMEX, Chase, etc) WILL work with you.

Regardless of how much you owe, it doesn't mean you deserve to get verbally abused.  Life happens.  It is ILLEGAL for them or any other debt collector to:

* use profanity
* harass you (making numerous calls constantly)
* contact family members, or your job after you request that they don't
*  to disclose ANY information whatsoever without verifying that they are actually speaking to you
* pose as a law office, or government official
* threaten to garnish your wages (that has to be through the courts)
* threaten to sue you unless they actually are going to, which most won't over a debt they only paid a couple hundred dollars for
*  make any other kind of threats

REPORT THEM every time they break the law!

If you don't owe the money, or if they are calling for someone else's debt, tell them to cease and desist.  (You may have to send it in writing) and if they don't stop, report them.  They tried to collect on an old credit card that was paid in full and closed over 10 years ago so I sent them a nice certified letter pointing out all the laws they broke when they were being rude, and that they needed to prove that the debt was legitimate.  Of course it was nowhere to be found on my credit.

Called left 877-879-1503 as a callback number.  Old BofA debt past statute of limitations.

Received call from this number today. Caller identified themselves as ARS Services. she was looking for someone with my name and wanted my DOB to verify it was me. I would not give her the information, then she wanted the last 4 of my social to verify it was not me. I again told her I do not give out personal info over the phone to anyone. She verified my address was not the address of the person she was looking for, but needed DOB or social to make sure. When I pushed for company contact info she hung up on me. I have received 2 calls from 2 different numbers this week, this number ID as FLORIDA CALL and 760.735.8531 ID as A R S NATL SVCS.

Something similar happened years ago here in Texas to a relative of mine. She contacted the State Attorney General's office and was told they needed a recording of the conversations. If you have one phone call similar to those previously listed, get a recorder set up and next time record the conversation. Most cell phones record so you could do it wit that. Then contact the State Attorney General's office with the recording.

You can also file a complaint with the FCC on the internet. I've done this in the past also.

my phone was off and when they called, left a message but didnt say anything. after reading the comments here, i blocked them. problem solved.

The dummy I am, I gave them my info, because I do have an overdue debt, now I am freaking out because I am wondering if the payments I set up will actually go to pay off my old debt.
Does anyone know the answer to that?  Please advise.

It is illegal for any of these companies to give personal information to anyone other than the account holder.  You can press charges and sue them.  I did this with American Express and won. Seek legal counsel.

They just called me 4 times from 4 different numbers in less than 2 minutes.  Guess what?  My pest caller blocking software killed all 4 calls without missing a beat!  

They are debt collectors...ARS national services / Associated Recovery Systems.

No sense in talking to them, they aren't interested in reality.  Get a Panasonic call-blocking phone and make sure this number is in the call block list.

We're off to a good start - 4 calls in 2 minutes is harrasment.  Now they just need to call again on a second day to satisfy my State's statute definition for harassment and my lawyer is going to have a field day with them.

stop calling

They started calling me last week. They must have changed their caller id, now comes up "Jax-Collector"??  Haven't answered the phone, they haven't left a message.

all i know is that im on the do not call list and this # called i didnt answer and didnt leave a message!i wish they would stop calling they have also called my cell

They called 3 times in a row, asking for my 90 year old grandmother the first time, then asking for my father, who passed away 7 years ago.  Called back a third time and then hung up on me.  I tried to call the number back but no one answered.

They called me looking for my ex-husband of 14 years! I gave them his current info home # and address and wished them luck since he has no job and is sooo far behind on child support that he'll never catch up!

The call was to my cell phone.  I missed the call and they didn't leave a message so I looked the number up on anywho.com and it came up with Elizabeth Giles.

It called my cell and I called it back but got a message saying it was not a working number.

they called me while i was in school. no idea who it can be.

A man called me asking my husband's cell phone. He refused to tell the reason why he called.

ARS Collection services. They are very harsh and violate the rules governing the collection companies. I sent them a no contact letter and asked that they not call anymore. I played stupid until the guy started yelling at me, calling me a bum etc. So I just told him that he was in violation of the fair credit reporting act and that this call was also being recorded. This violation warrants a suit in small claims court for the amount of 1,000 per violation. He hung up quickly and has never called again.

Got a call asking for ? (couldn't really understand the caller).  I said they had a wrong number.  The caller repeated the name (still unclear).  I said there is no one here by that name.  The caller asked do you know anyone by that name? I answered no - caller said goodby.

who ever call cell phone and i never received the number

called my several times, i did not take the call.  no message left. I called back and ph just rang. how do jerks like this get our #'s.

wait until they sell it to someone else so they dont get the money. Scavenger debt collector who spoofs a real name on their CallerID
HOW CAN FOUR DIFFERENT AGENCIES CLAIM THE SAME DEBT????

This is ARS National, a collection group that at least provides collection assistance for Bank of America credit cards.  This was a legitimate debt that I had from a couple of years ago.

I initially received several calls from 760-735-8531 that I did not answer because I didn't recognize the number and they never left a message.  After the first time when I picked up to find out who they were, he was very polite and courteous.  When he was calling to negotiate my settlement, he would often, but not always leave messages.

This week we closed my account very fairly and I'm satisfied with the results (as ARS must be or else they wouldn't have agreed).

Someone from that number keeps calling and then hangs up before we can answer.  I try to return the call and they just let the phone ring until it shuts off by itself.  I would like to know who is making the calls and why.

My father in who lives 3500 miles away from me is getting collection calls on my account which is going into bankruptcy within the next 60 days.  I don't even have the same last name and haven't for more than 14 years -- and I only talk to him twice a year and he called tonight because of this.  They have called over 6 times.  They let them know that I don't live there and they don't have contact with me on a normal basis, but a different person keeps calling everytime.

OMG!! after reading all these comments this just gets scarier, haha...  How on earth do all these people do what they are doing and not be stopped...  I also have been getting a lot of calls from various nbrs, which two of them are on this website... the one in question right now is A.R.S. NATL SRVCS.  760-735-8531, whom also is taken off my id caller.... I have no idea how these people get our nbr because we do not owe them anything.  As of last year for some reason the last 3 months is when this craziness started with all these calls... I sure would like to figure out how they can stop calling, but first I have to find out where they are located with addresses so they can be notified that they are violating the law, and may be subject to a lawsuit also if they continue to harrass people with their calls.  I don't have the time to look into all this stuff online, it is crazy what people get away with these days!!!

Just received a call from this number also. A nice/polite voice on the other end.... Wondering if I should try to negotiate my debt with this company or not.... Do you remember who was the guy (name) you spoke with it???
thanks
Leandro
02/16/11

I have received a call from this number twice.  Both times they have asked for my husbands
ex wife. The have been divorced for 25 years.  I am a bit concerned how they found our phone
number and are looking for his ex-wife and she has a different last name now. Truth or Scam?

truth. what happens (as i was explained) if she had a debt in the past.  No matter if it can be used against her or not, they are still going to try to collect.  Therefore, my understanding, is that they are able to run her credit report again, and if in the past she had an account with your husband, they tie in his information to her.  Now they try to locate her using his information on his credit report, of course, after these many years, your information is with his now and they try all available numbers used in both of your accounts.  Walla, call to you.  They are all rude, just blow them off and mark your phone caller i.d. "dont answer" to remind you.

I did not answer but the call showed up as ARS National Services.