Afni, fraudulent Verizon Communications collection notice fishing dishonest Bloomington Indiana
I'm really glad I saw this site! I received a collection notice from Afni demanding $212.81 for a Verizon Communications phone account. My name and address are correct on the notice, but I have never had an account with Verizon or been issued the phone number associated with this account. I have also never recieved any previous correspondence from anyone saying I owed money to Verizon, let alone that an account was going to collections! I Googled the phone number and it came back to a really odd name in a nearby town I have never lived in. The phone number is disconnected, of course. Neither this account or the phone number asociated with it appear on my credit report.
Verizon Communications informed me I've been a victim of fraud and that other local customers have complained of receiving the same letters. Verizon's customer service rep thought this sounded like a "fishing" scam, in which real debts are intentionally mailed to the wrong people with the hope that those people will pay the debt just to protect their good credit.
Before I found this site, I placed a 6 month hold on my credit to avoid further fraud activity. I'm buying a new house in 3 months and I have a feeling this incident may affect both my credit and interest rates for the worse. I will be discussing my options with my attorney tomorrow afternoon. I will also gladly participate in any class action suit brought forward against this company; this is fraudulant deception at its worst.
Jaymes
Portland, Oregon
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
P
Dallas,Texas,
U.S.A.
AFNI CONTACT
#2Consumer Suggestion
Thu, January 25, 2007
Corporate Headquarters
404 Brock Drive
Bloomington, IL 61702-3097
800.767-2364
Afni, Inc.
404 Brock Drive
Bloomington, IL 61702 USA
Contact: Jim Hess, Director, Business Development
Phone: 800-767-2364, ext. 3321
Fax: 309-820-2632
Email: jimhess@afninet.com Afni, Inc. IL 309-663-4510 Jim Hess
Website: afninet.com
President and COO:
RONALD L GREENE
404 BROCK DRIVE
BLOOMINGTON 61701
Secretary: GREGORY J DONOVAN same address
Bruce F. Griffin
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Ronald L. Greene
President and Chief Operating Officer
Greg Donovan, CPA
Vice President of Employee Services
Stenia Dziadiw
Vice President of Sales & Business Development
Michael D. Garner
Vice President of Call Center Services
John Mobley, Jr.
Vice President, Information Technology Services and
Chief Information Officer
John O'Donnell
Vice President of Credit & Collections Services
Organization Number 0491821
Name AFNI, INC.
Profit or Non-Profit P - Profit
Company Type FCO - Foreign Corporation *****
Status A - Active
Standing G - Good
State IL
File Date 3/27/2000
Authority Date 3/27/2000
Last Annual Report 5/1/2006
Principal Office 404 BROCK DRIVE
BLOOMINGTON, IL 61701
Registered Agent C T CORPORATION SYSTEM
KENTUCKY HOME LIFE BLDG
LOUISVILLE, KY 40202
Current Officers
President Ronald L. Greene
Vice President Gregory J. Donovan
Secretary Gregory J. Donovan
Treasurer V. Curtis Oyer
Director Bruce F. Griffin
Director Ronald L. Greene
This organization has no assumed names
Previous Names
previous company names:
06/24/1986 - CREDIT CHECK INC.
06/29/2000 - ANDERSON FINANCIAL NETWORK, INC.
For collection-related inquiries, contact our Recovery Team at 1.800.371.3645, by mail at Afni, Inc. PO Box 3517, Bloomington, IL 61701 or email at: recoveryteam@afninet.com.
To handle your collections account on the internet, visit the collections website at AfniCollections.com
Important Note Regarding Collection-Related Inquiries:
If you choose to communicate via email, please remember that no matter how many measures Afni takes to ensure the confidentiality of your email, the Internet may be a non-secure medium for communication. If you choose to communicate your collection-related inquiry via email, Afni cannot be responsible for any possible disclosure of an account to a third party
COLLECTIONS PORTION OF THE COMPANY URL APPEARS TO BE AFNINET.COM
Anderson Financial Network, Inc.
404 Brock Drive
Bloomington, IL 61701
Administrative Contact:
Girard, Chris g@AFNINET.COM
Afni
404 Brock Dr
Bloomington, IL 61701
(309) 828-5226 fax: (309) 820-2610
Technical Contact:
Anderson Financial Network, Inc. oktober_isbell@HOTMAIL.COM
404 BROCK DR
BLOOMINGTON, IL 61701-2654
US
309.828.5226 fax: 123 123 1234
GENERAL INFORMATION FROM VARIOUS SITES ON DEALING WITH COLLECTION AGENCY'S
Tell them to validate by
. What the money you say I owe is for;
Explain and show me how you calculated what you say I owe;
Provide me with copies of any papers that show I agreed to pay what you say I owe;
Provide a verification or copy of any judgment if applicable;
Identify the original creditor;
Prove the Statute of Limitations has not expired on this account
Show me that you are licensed to collect in my state
Provide me with your license numbers and Registered Agent
1. NEVER talk to a collection agency on the phone. Period.
2. Keep good records. This can be the difference between a good and bad settlement. Don't expect them to remember you or what you agreed upon.
3. Send all correspondence via registered mail, receipt requested and put the registered mail number ON THE LETTER. DO NOT SIGN THE LETTER TYPE YOUR NAME
4. Keep a copy of every letter you send.
5. Penalties and extra interest are typically fictious amounts of money added on by the collection agency to pad their profits. Sometimes as much as to 50% of the debt or more claimed to be owed by a collection agency consisting of interest and fees. This is illegal, every state has usery laws (which dictate the maximum interests allowed to be charged. That is except North Dakota. There are no such laws which is why most credit card companies incorporate there.) Junk debt buyer pay anywhere from 1 cent to 7 cents on the dollar, there is no way there is this much interest.
6. Time is on your side. As time passes, the creditors will likely stop calling and the debt will be filed away for future attention or until the SOL runs out ..