Never return anything without a tracking number or a return receipt/ certified mail.  This way they can't claim "they didn't get it".

first off I pay my bills and returned my equipment to the ups store they told me to and sent at&t the reciept. I refuse to pay for something your contracted store lost!!! so screw you and at&t

I received a call from this number today. The caller did not identify himself and refused to tell me the purpose of the call until I confirmed I was the person who's name he gave (which by the way was unintelligible). I asked him at least five times where he was calling from and the purpose of the call but he refused. I finally hung up and called the number back. The recording identified them as Bay Area Credit Service. I had my wife confirm this online and we found out they're in the San Jose area. They use unacceptable practices and call people without outstanding debt. Be vigilant and DO NOT give out any personal information over the phone or in an e-mail.

Another thread of predatory debt collection tactics. Preying on family friends that include the elderly, vulnerable and uninformed. Read through this thread to see the possibilities of who's  calling under Bay Area Credit Services with many locations and BBB reports showing less than professional and ethical business practices.

My grandmother got a phone call from this company about a bill from the emergency room.  The guy kept asking her if she remembered that she was there.  She told him to send a bill.  She got one in the mail so I looked the company up because it didn't have any information to explain what the bill was for.  This makes me so mad for people to prey on elderly people.  This is ridiculous!

These people have been phoning me every morning promptly at 8:03 a.m. every morning for a year.  I have absolutely no idea what they are trying to sell, because when I answer, there is nobody on the line, not even a recording.  When I phone back, the phone rings and rings and finally switches to a local number, and nobody answers that either.  I get a chance to give them a profanity laced piece of my mind on their voicemail.  But it hasn't done any good.  They still call me every morning, Sundays included, promptly at 8:03 a.m.  There is no place in Hell hot enough for these people.

repost-
cmon. the caller is bogus.t i received a number of calls not leaving a voicemail. one day a female voice left a message. the message i received from this number stated a name i never heard of and then played a recorded message. the message was obviously distorted electronically on purpose in attempt to disguise their voice.
i never spike to the caller.
any and all debts are notified by writing through the postal mail. do not ever disclose any info over the phone to anyone no matter how legit they sound or portray themselves. these are scams pure and simple.
a legit credit collector will provide in writing your debt owed with dates, amounts, fees etc. any other method is fake, fake, fake.
threats are another sign. you cannot go to jail for a debt. the police cannot serve you. learn your rights and use them.
the voices in these messages are obviously Nigerian in origin. do not be fooled by them.

I keep getting phishing calls from this number.  I'm sick of it.  EVERY MORNING!  Gees Louise!

Got a call from these people asking to speak to my friend. I told them they had the wrong number. They asked if I knew her, and when I said yes, they asked for her phone number, I knew right then something was not right. This company is SHAMELESS.

I disconnected my phone from ATT. Past due bill was sent to Bay Area Credit Service. Bay Area Credit has been calling me day and night, which is illegal. Before I send my Check to ATT, I will report this, as you all should, to ATT

We have long had scam calls from other "collection companies" (the classic and seemingly finished "Civil Proceedings Division" was a particular star) and just started receiving calls from this number. Usually I pick up and stay silent and the auto-dialer/computer system they use hears the silence, thinks it is a dead number and then hangs up. This time I decided to chat with them.
A man with very poor English responded, much noise in the background like a call center. He asked for a name that sounded nothing like anyone at our number. He didn't say who was calling; I had to request this information. The name he gave was unintelligible and the company was Bay Area Credit. I let him know that there was no one at this number with the name he asked for. He waited on the phone until I hung up.
If you get these calls, even if they have your name, just claim no knowledge of who they are asking for. Give them NO information and promptly hang up. Legit collection companies do not act like this. You might even read comments on this website from other posters claiming that these calls ARE legit, that you should just pay your debt. The latter is true, you SHOULD pay your bills, but don't fall for these phishing phone call scams. Give them no info and move on. If they keep harassing you, report them to the FTC, your state attorney general and, if they make threats, simply go to your police. Get as much information from the caller as you can and keep notes of dates and times.
These people are horrible parasites who take advantage of desperate people during hard times. Don't fall for it.

am receiving call frm Bay Area Credit Svc for a "SCOTT RITTER"  daily to the point of harassment & am sick of it! Stop calling me b4 I report U to whaterver services I will find to charge U with harassment!!!! This is ur only warning of intentions!

Received 6 calls from this number and finally blocked it. Must be one of those greedy Capitol One companies.....

How dare the company hired to recover those funds violate federal laws like the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act! It's not a violation of law to owe money. But it is a violation of federal law to violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). How dare AT&T and these other companies hire these law breakers! SHAME ON THEM

I know that's right!!! Amen

Right, I'm sure your employee really gives a flying leap

AT&T is not the problem, I've had nothing but the best service, fairest prices, and ALWAYS get to speak to a human being if need be. The problem is people signing contracts with AT&T for 2 years then deciding to not pay the bill after they've been given and trusted to pay for a $700 smartphone on credit.  I think you're all getting carried away and need to come back down to earth. Jesus, if you don't owe a bill, answer your phone and take care of it, I have a feeling you guys just don't want to admit that you screwed some phone company out of the money you promised to pay.  How dare you get annoyed with the company hired to recover those funds! Shame on all of you

I also received the same call and message as others saying this was an 'important call' for 'my name' and to hold on for further information.  it proceeded to say that it was the Bay Area Credit Collection calling about a 'bad debt' for 'my name' and that I needed to call some number during business hours M-F, etc.  I know I don't have any 'bad debt' since I have NO DEBT.

THESE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN CALLING MY CELL PHONE EVERYDAY FOR A WEEK AND LEAVING MESSAGES AND IM TIRED OF IT. THEN THEY WILL ASK MY MOM AT OUR HOUSE WHEN SHE ANSWERS WHO IS SHE. AND SHE TELLS THEM NONE OF THERE BUSINESS AND DONT CALL HER HOUSE ANYMORE.

We have started getting calls from a "collection agency" using this number.  The "agency" is trying to locate someone we have never even heard of.  The calls are made at least daily.  They are nuisance calls made to what is obviously a wrong number.

I got a call from someone barely able to speak English.  Her namewas Venessa Miller, asking for my daughter who does not live in this state.  I asked for the business name and she said Bay Area Credit Service.  So I Googled it and this is what I found.  Do not call 800-454-2237 it is a scam!

Someone has started harrassing us by calling from 800-454-2227 repeatedly.  They appear to be a collection agency.  They say that they have information for someone we've never heard of - and they are trying to collect for something.  They call every day. They tell us to hang up if we're not the person they're looking for - we hang up immediately, but that doesn't keep them from continuing to make harrassing telephone calls.

Michael,

Don't feel bad, I did the same thing and had to cancel my credit card.  What a pain.  I am going to print all this out and send to the CEO of AT&T and tell them they have a bad seed in their company who must be selling his customer's information.   These guys are absolute scammers.  Please do not give them any information and certainly do not pay.

Good point!  This sounds like there is a mole in AT&T.  How are these scammers getting this information in the first place??

I had a problem with AT&T who was charging me for a line that had been canceled, but I had a legitimate cell line ... they were charging me too much and since I didn't hear anything further about the mistaken number I thought it had been resolved.  Coincidentally, these scammers from Bay Area Credit called me.  They had my AT&T account number etc.  They almost had me believing I owed some kind of termination fee.. for being one day late?  Right?  They even said they knew my social security number, it was a red flag t me that they were trying so hard to convince me they were legitimate.  When I said that I could not own the amount they wanted, around $600 and that I had just paid $200, and that I would take it up to AT&T he said he could make me a special deal for only $400... These guys are scammers.  I just checked my AT&T bill and I do not owe any past due amount!  AT&T NEEDS TO INVESTIGATE THIS.  WHO IS GIVING THESE GUYS ACCOUNT NUMBERS AND PERSONAL DATA?  IT MUST BE AN INSIDE JOB.

OMG!  Thank you, Kevin.  This is scary.  Very scary.  So basically they blackmail you and extort money just so they'll quit calling you!!  I fear we will have to change our home number.

OMG, that is similar to my experience.  I had just paid my AT&T bill for $200 approx., they these guys called me and said I owed $600, my bill was only around $200.  They said AT&T was including an early termination fee.   Termination fee?  I didn't terminate my account.  He said they were going to terminate me for being late with my bill.  This was the first time I heard about it.  Regrettably, I gave him my credit card information and scheduled a delayed payment.  Then he started asking me all this personal information, like where do I work.  I gave him false information because once again, I just felt something wasn't right.  After he gave me my confirmation number he said, "Just make sure the funds are there on that day!"  That was it, I knew these guys were scammers and I had just been scammed.  If they do work for AT&T and this is AT&T's tactics if you are one day late, then I am done with AT&T, too.  By the way, I immediately called my bank and asked for my card to be cancelled.  My bank told me she had just cancelled another person's card for a similar story with Verizon!  I also called Bay Area Credit, the number I found online (different from the one they gave me) and left them a message.  I asked them to confirm this was them.  I will call AT&T tomorrow but doubt I will get far.  I have had the same experience with getting the run around from these people.

They are a Collections company who buy AT&T land line debts.

Bay Area Credit Services are a legitimate collections company for AT&T; but they are an extra nuisance since they buy old debts from AT&T they think they have extra clout.

Yup... I just got scammed.  They told me I had a balance on my AT&T account from a move I did to a new house and went from regular phone service to Uverse.  Man, I can't believe I fell for it.  All of the people (including the "Supervisor" had Mexican / Spanish accents which didn't strike me too crazy because of our "global economy" so I went with it.  I hade a bad feeling though 'cause I was sure I paid AT&T for the old account.

Anyway, I cancelled the card immediately and I didn't give them any new information.  It just occured to me that they didn't ask for the three-digit code on the back.

Man... I can't believe I fell for it...

so are call blocking devices and phones!