The Second Collection Call in my Life

Even with my debt level and my lack of income, I’ve managed to hoard off the collection calls and pay most of my bills on time (with the exception of a few that I have had to strategically pay late – but not late enough to warrant a call).

My very first collection call was about 9 years ago when I was college. It turned out that a few bills from when my wisdom teeth were pulled were unpaid by my parents (I was 17 at the time). My name was on the account, and they finally found me. Luckily, I had some money at the time and I cut a check right then and there and took care of them.

But today, I received my second call – and I can’t believe it. Here’s how the conversation went:

Me: Hello.

Them: Hello, this is (can’t remember her name) from AT&T Accounts Receivable and I am calling because you have an unpaid balance of $110 (and some change) on your account.

Me: I do? (because I keep current with the phone bill)

Them: Yes, you do. Would you like to pay that over the phone today with a check?

Me: Hold on, and let me check my records real quick because that does not sound right. (I was just working in Quickenso I pulled up the information on my last payment).

Me: That has to be two months.

Them:*Silence*

Me:That must be two months, right? (now I’m wondering if this is a scam and someone wanting my banking info)

Them: *Silence*

Me: Right??

Them:Oh, I’m sorry mam. What did you say?

Me:That must be two months that you are talking about, right?

Them: Yes, that is for the payment due on March 24 and for the payment due that you have not received the bill for yet.

Me: Well, I’m not concerned about the amount I haven’t received a bill for yet (man, was I so peeved that she was trying to get me to pay for a bill I haven’t even received yet!!)

Them: Would you like to pay the past due amount over the phone right now?

Me: No, because I mailed the check on March 25. (I lower my head because I did forget to mail the darn check before the due date on this one)

Them: Okay mam, I will note that in our records that your payment was mailed on March 25 and your service will not be shut off.

Me: Okay.

Them: Thank you for choosing AT&T. Have a nice day.

Me: You too.

*CLICK*

My payment was 7 days late!!! And that warrants a telephone call on a Saturday nonetheless? What ever happened to past due notices? And trying to sneak in getting me to pay for the bill I haven’t received yet???

I’m not sure what to think on this one.

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Posted by Tricia on April 1, 2006 at 11:38 PM in Life Experiences | 3 Comments »
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Chitown responded:
Posted: April 2nd, 2006 at 1:24 am
Sounds a little fishy to me. Glad you didn’t pay the bill over the phone. As I rule, I never give out any personal information over the phone. I always tell them to send it to me in writing. End of story. Sorry you got bothered on your weekend nonetheless. Keep your head up!!!
Tricia responded:
Posted: April 2nd, 2006 at 10:58 am
The caller did have the correct amount of the bill that was only 7 days late, so it did sound legit. But, like you, I never give information like that out over the phone. They can threaten to turn my phone off, but I don’t budge. I’m stubborn that way LOL.

Thanks for stopping by
Blogging Away Debt » Blog Archive » Guess Who Received their Payment? responded:
Posted: July 20th, 2006 at 11:29 pm
[...] I was pretty cautious of my entire phone call from them as being a scam, but it really sounds like everything was legit. [...]