Phone calls and other communications from debt collectors can be incredibly frustrating.
They will cause some people to change their number and sometimes move just to avoid it.
This frustration is ten fold if the debt is not yours.
It is not uncommon for a lender to make a mistake and your account to go into collections, after all they are human.
However, trying to explain that to a collector is next to impossible.
This is because their motive is to recover payment not to fix mistakes.
If you find yourself in this position you should request validation of the debt, this is done by writing a letter to the collector.
I suggest you do this by certified mail so you have documentation that they received your letter.
Do not do this over the phone because it is often ignored.
In addition you only have 30 days to request validation once you are notified.
Unfortunately is is not uncommon for debt collectors to sell your account when you make this request.
This is why I suggest you send the letter through certified mail so you can prove that your letter was received.
I suggest you hire a credit repair service to dispute the negative credit items that the collectors have posted to your credit report.
This way you will prevent your score from being ruined.
However if the account is valid then we suggest you settle it.
This is done through a settlement letter; you should offer 50% of the balance.
Start at 50% because they bought your account for a fraction of the balance.
Also this will notify them that you are willing to pay you just need to agree on a price.
You should have them agree in writing that they will remove the negative item from your report in exchange for your payment.
If this is not done then the item will change to a paid collection and it will still be seen as a negative mark by future lenders.
In sum, I suggest a service to repair you credit from debt collectors.