Today I recieved an interesting phone call, from Tyler Lowe of RMS Collection Services, regarding an unpaid UPS (United Parcel Service) invoice.
You'd think this would be embarrasing news that I would keep to myself. On the contrare, I am VERY proud of the way I pay my bills -- last year I paid a total of $2.47 in interest.
This is just a short story on a recent experience I had... and how I dealt with it. Read on...
I'm still not 100% sure exactly what happened... I either recieved the invoice and misplaced it, or it was never recieved (read as: lost in the mail). Either way, it's no big deal -- a reminder letter or statement from UPS will make me aware of the unpaid invoice. But that letter never came. Nor did UPS contact me in ANY form (telephone, fax, email, snail mail, etc.).
The original invoice was from June of this year... JUNE and I get a call from a collection agency in DECEMBER? Actually, I got a letter from RMS last Monday... I called UPS and confirmed that I had an outstanding invoice... I sat down, wrote the cheque, mailed it and called UPS back to let them know. One letter, even though it was from a third party, was all it took to make me aware of an error in accounting and the invoice was paid. I asked them to look at my account and see if I've ever been LATE, never mind not paying a bill altogether. The answer was no.
I asked UPS what steps they had taken to contact me as the paperwork recieved from RMS stated that UPS "has exhausted collection efforts" -- no answer was given to me. I told UPS that they did not "exhaust" any efforts as all it took was one letter (a phone call would have sufficed).
You know the saying "SHIT HAPPENS"? Well, shit happens... I'm human... I make mistakes -- and I accept full responsibilty for my mistakes. But to be treated as an absolute low-life because of an oversite (one lost invoice) is sickening -- especially since I've been dealing with them (UPS) for over 10 years and have had not one late payment.
Anyway, back to the original title of this post... are collection agencies a thing of the past? Why do I say that? Well, simply from my telephone conversation with Tyler Lowe from RMS Collections. After he asked for me and identified himself as a collection agency, I said two simple words to him that, litterally, cut the conversation short -- "Prove it".
"Prove it?", said Tyler.
"Yes, prove it.", I said -- "Prove to me that you are who you say you are and are not simply a telemarketing scam -- you are asking for my credit card information and my security code on the back of the card. That, to me, sends up red flags for a scam. Prove that you are a legitimate company, you are gainfully employed by that company and have been hired by UPS to collect an unpaid invoice."
"How would you like me to do that?", was the reply.
"I really don't care.", I said -- "The onis is on you, not me. You are a third party that is making claims with nothing to back them up. Until you can prove to me that you are not a scam, I will have no further dealings with you. Have UPS call me."
Have UPS call me? Yeah, the collection agency is going to call UPS and basically say "We can't collect your invoice as we cannot prove to your customer that we are a legitimate company and your customer will not deal with us... your customer would like you to phone him.". Why would a company, such as UPS, deal with a collection agency if they can't collect?
This post is more of a rant than anything... I am pissed at the way I was treated simply due to an oversite. It is also to let you know that you can stand up for yourself and do not have to deal with these collection agencies, if you ever get put in that situation -- hopefully, you will not. Ask them to "Prove it", or don't give them anything -- then call the company they are "supposedly" collecting for and let them know as well. It's like PayPal always says, always type the URL into your browser and NEVER give information to a third party claiming to be working on the behalf of PayPal.
Let me also make note that I am IN NO WAY telling you to not pay your bills -- that's not what this is about. If you pay your bills, you should never need this information -- but that's not guaranteed either, as my story above explains. Whether you pay your bills on time religously or not, it's always possible that you too will be placed in a situation similar to mine. So, always remember these two words -- "PROVE IT!".
Me too
I also received a letter from collections in the same manner that you did, except I had actually paid COD for a parcel and they were still trying to collect the money on it. I had some very unprofessional responses from one Anna Maria Martin at RMS Collections. I mean, they treat you like a low-life even when you are not. I understand that they deal with people that don't pay their bills and they have to be rude and threatening to get the money out of people sometimes, but when you're innocent like me, being treated like some low-life that can't pay their bills is very non-productive and completely disrespectful.
The same thing happened to
The same thing happened to me. They said I owed them money and that they were going to collect from my employer and it would affect my credit rating. I called UPS with EVIDENCE (my credit card statement) telling them that I had paid on delivery. They checked their system and she said that "it hadn't posted for some reason". She said that she would clear the matter up. We will see if RMS stops harrassing me.
I just called RMS, who has
I just called RMS, who has yet to send me a statement...The original balance was in the neighborhood of $500.00 and is now $96.00, but yet, "Mr Rude"...(and I'm being polite here..).says the had me listed as refusing to pay.....
RMS
Asking a collections "person" to prove that they work for the vendor is a fantastic idea. I received a phone call from Jimmy at RMS last Thursday night. He said that I had a delinquent bill with AT&T from 5 years ago in the amount of $1400.00. AT&T has never contacted me regarding this and I have been using their services all these years.
Well, Jimmy wanted to "clear this matter up" in the form of a check-by-phone, right there on the spot. I asked him to e-mail or fax something in writting. My spidey senses went through the room when I received an e-mail that a 5 year-old could have sent. It was not on letterhead, there was no company name (he claimed to be with RMS over the phone), just a po box number somewhere in PA. There was no sign-off at the end of the letter and his name did not appear anywhere.
If he calls back, I will definitly ask him to prove his identity. Thank you for the tip.
Caroline
UPS and RMS- ME TOO!
RMS is trying to collect money from me for UPS also. I don't owe UPS any money!!! I don't even have an a account with UPS! I sent 3 things thru UPS last year but always paid in advance! I'M NOT PAYING UPS MONEY I DON'T OWE! RMS called 3 times in a 30minute period one night. I called the Sheriffs office and reported them. Sent this company a Cease and Desist certified letter. This coompany continued to call. My lawyer is now going to sue this company. I don't owe UPS one dime! PROVE IT! YES, that works for me. I would definatly like UPS or RMS to prove I owe them anything... I DON'T! This is HARASSMENT AND IM PISSED!
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