Afni
Reviews and Complaints

I have received a collection notice of $75.04 from Bell Atlantic, now Verizon. I called afni and the clerk treated me like a criminal, "Well you opened this account, and you closed it after two years and owe this amount" , I replied "I never owned this phone #", and she said "well it happened 10 years ago, you were 31 years old". The forwarding address is wrong and I had a different phone # that the one in dispute. After my explanation, she said "you sound like an honest person, but you have to pay". Unbelievable, it's only $75.04 but It's a fraud. I contacted Verizon and I don't owe them a penny. What a waist of time. AFNI have to stop accusing people of false debts.

I received a collection notice as well. I called Verizon to see if there were any other accounts (other than the ones I know I have) associated to me and they told me "No." I called Afni and STUPIDLY confirmed the last 4 digits of my ss# and date of birth. At that point I found out the charges were from 1997. In 1997 I was living in a different town and my telephone number was under my roommate's name. It baffled me that my current information was connected to this old "bill." But thank God they did reveal that information. HUGE red flag that I failed to notice immediately.

In any case, when I was asked for my driver's license number through their web site I stopped in my tracks, did a search, and found this site. Thank you all for being here before me, as unfortunate it is that we all have been. Saved your family and loved ones.

Information below is all availble from their website:

Afni's executive team
http://www.afniupsourcing.com/about_us/executive_team.php#sub

Corporate Headquarters
404 Brock Drive
Bloomington, IL [protected]
800.767-2364

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.

Another fraudulent attempt to collect charges for Direct tv. I have had Comcast for 9 years. Thank goodness I checked here before calling, at least they don't have my number. Did someone get Jessi?

Attempting to collect a debt from over 11 years ago. Inever had a phone with Verizon Florida. I have lived in another state for 11years.This is ridiculous and after 7 years it should not even be happening. According to the credit bureau there should not be any thing like this on my report.

This phone # that they said we owed was not ours or never had been. We have had Verizon phones
and have never been turned down for an outstanding account balance.

I received notice that I owed a bill from 1999 on a phone number that I still have. I asked why no one has contacted me in 8 years and he told me he would send a letter of validation. Whatever that means. What can I do to protect my credit rating... Plz advise smb!

Uhhh did you by chance even read what the FTC states is the statue of limt. ... i dont thingk you did. The statues protect you from credit repoting of a debt over 7 yrs and taking legal action after 7 yrs... But sorry bud there is no "debt fariy" that makes your debt go away after years you still owe it, companies can still collect on it and contact you about the debt. Any why do you companies have to be able to sue you for you to think you owe a bill thats kind of an odd comment to make for a person who pays their bills dont you thing?

I have tried to call Afni, Inc and they say they can not take my call at this tI'me but when they can they will? wtf... they say i owe them 557.00$ and i have no idea why or how i owe them this money I'm 22 yrs old never had a credit card, and have never been with a phone company can someone please tell me how else i can get this resolved or even get ahold of this company

I also received something from them that was an old no good bill. I sent them a very good letter and actually got an apology letter from them asking permission to take up to 30 days to remove any marks on my credit. It was a great victory. E-mail me @ ddriggs@gmail.com with the subject, "Afni" and I'll send you the letter. It can be used as a form letter where you just put in your relevant information and send it to them via registered mail.

For debts that fall outside of statutue of limitations just send the collector a "Cease & Desist Demand". If you google the phrase you will find sample letters which you can add your infromation and send it via certified mail and return receipt requested. After sending a Cease & Desist Letter, if the collector contacts you to collect again then you can sue them for $1000 for each incident.

Each state has a different statute of limitation for collection of debt through civil action. Generally, it varies from 4 to 6 years. A collector can sue you to collect an old debt in court, but you can raise the defense of lack of jurisdiction of the court to hear the case if the statute of limitations on the debt is expired.

Definitely consult with an attorney specializing in collection matters. Good luck.

Ive received my second notice from Afni. The first one raised my suspicions. I do owe Verison $1261.43 from 2007 but all Afni wants is $100! As good as that sounds, I hesitate to mail it to them and then receive more collection letters from other collection agents. I would call Verizon but I dont have any money to pay it back anyway, Iv been unemployed for the 3 years. Almost all of what I owe is not from actual usage of their phone, they were turned off after 2 months of non payment and the rest is the BS charges. Actually I have received letters demanding around $600 from another collection agendy before I got the first one from Afni. I will try to pay that one if I ever get another job but Im not giving Afni one penny.

i just received a phonebill from AFNI saying i owe $431.17 in 2007 in the area code of 915 which is el paso..well 1st of i was deploy to iraq from feb 2007 til july 2008 and i know for sure alltel and verizon dont have any service there..and when i try calling them today (2mar2011)they hung up on me for trying to explain where i was in that point of time. this really heat me up i want to sue this mathafuc***s..any suggestions?

I had a two-year contract w/ verizon from 1998 to 2000. I used the phone only for business purposes and never went over my allotted minutes. After two years, I chose get a new phone and new service provider. 3 months after my contract expired I got a notice from Verizon saying I owed them roughly $60. I immediately called them and we came to an agreement that the charge was in error - apparently they did not know I did not want to extend my contract. The employee apologized for the error and told me to disregard the notice. Case closed, right? Fast forward 11 years...yes, 11 years. I still live in the same home (which I own)where my bills from 11 years ago were sent. My parents, who have since moved to South Caroline (I live in Ohio)just started getting notices and phone calls that I owe verizon $379.79! I live in the same house and have the same phone number I had 11 years ago! My wife and I both have credit scores above 800 and have never missed or even been late on any payments for anything in our lives! I am absolutely furious right now, and have yet to decide what I am going to do about this. I will never do business w/ Verizon again, and will discourage anyone else as well.

Here is form letter than works quite well. I received an apology letter from AFNI Inc after sending them this letter. Just replace the generic info with yours and send it via registered mail. That way they cannot dispute getting the letter.

Here it is.

Date

Your Name
Your address
City, Zip

Afni, Inc.
404 Brock Drive
PO Box 3427
Bloomington, IL [protected]

Date

Re: Acct # Account number listed

To Whom It May Concern:

This letter is being sent to you in response to a notice sent to me on 12.06.2008. Be advised that this is not a refusal to pay, but a notice sent pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692g Sec. 809 (b) that your claim is disputed and validation is requested.

This is NOT a request for “verification” or proof of my mailing address, but a request for VALIDATION made pursuant to the above named Title and Section. I respectfully request that your offices provide me with competent evidence that I have any legal obligation to pay you.

Please provide me with the following:

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

At this time I will also inform you that if your offices have reported invalidated information to any of the 3 major Credit Bureau’s (Equifax, Experian or TransUnion) this action might constitute fraud under both Federal and State Laws. Due to this fact, if any negative mark is found on any of my credit reports by your company or the company that you represent I will not hesitate in bringing legal action against you for the following:

Violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Defamation of Character

If your offices are able to provide the proper documentation as requested in the following Declaration, I will require at least 30 days to investigate this information and during such time all collection activity must cease and desist.

Also during this validation period, if any action is taken which could be considered detrimental to any of my credit reports, I will consult with my legal counsel for suit. This includes any listing any information to a credit reporting repository that could be inaccurate or invalidated or verifying an account as accurate when in fact there is no provided proof that it is.

If your offices fail to respond to this validation request within 30 days from the date of your receipt, all references to this account must be deleted and completely removed from my credit file and a copy of such deletion request shall be sent to me immediately.

I would also like to request, in writing, that no telephone contact be made by your offices to my home or to my place of employment. If your offices attempt telephone communication with me, including but not limited to computer generated calls and calls or correspondence sent to or with any third parties, it will be considered harassment and I will have no choice but to file suit. All future communications with me MUST be done in writing and sent to the address noted in this letter by USPS.

It would be advisable that you assure that your records are in order before I am forced to take legal action. This is an attempt to correct your records, any information obtained shall be used for that purpose.

Best Regards,

____________________
Your name

The statute of limitations for most bills in most states is 6 years. That is 6 years from the last payment made. So even if you paid your phone bill in 1999 they can no longer make you pay. If they try to take you to court all you have to do is show that the statute of limitations has passed and the judge will dismiss it. I AFNI Inc a letter of dispute and actually received an apology letter from them. I felt quite vindicated!

When we receive junk mail of this type normally it goes from the mailbox into the trash can before it makes it into the house.
This one was addressed to my sister-in-law, however, so I let her open it.
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How this 'Afni' scam-artists tracked my sister-in-law to my address is beyond me. She does reside here but, has no bills or debts.
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Afni, sent her a notice of a past Verizon South bill for $134.34 - However, they are eager to accept $50.00 and call it paid-in-full!
I have a bit of news for you Afni, she never had a Verizon South account.
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I did get a chuckle while reading the "Discounted Payment Offer" though. It was 4 paragraphs of where and how to supply them with credit card information, but Not one word on filing a dispute or any other federally required customer service information.
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Thank God, we watched the "24 Hours" television program when they ran the episode about these crack-heads who, for a few dollars apply for a "Collection Agent" license.
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Afni, Inc. you prey off the unsuspecting and naive... I say, "Burn in Hell".

T. Abayre - send them a cease and desist letter via the mail and return receipt. It's the only way you can make them stop unless they are calling more than 1 time per week. They can be sued for harassment in small claims court and you can actually be awarded $1000 per incident. Check the FCRA and other laws regarding this behavior.

I am yet another victim of this bogus so called company. They sent me a letter stating that I owed $146.10 but would settle for $73.10...from a Verizon Phone opened in [protected] in California. I have never lived in Cali or visited this state. I called the Federal Trade Comission filed a report, sent a dispute letter to AFNI my next steps will be determined when I find out what AFNI is going to do with this...DON'T PAY...if you didn't open it DON'T PAY...that is how they are making their money. They are getting through to some of us but not the smart ones. I have excellent credit and will fight to the end to protect my good decisions that I have made over the years. It is a shame ! Good luck to you all...!

my name is julia an afni send me a bill for $452.00 for a cel or phone account that i didnt paid, the problem is that i never had a phone in the UNITED STATES because i live in mexico so i tink someones brougth this line so, wath can i do whit this problem?

ANFI sent me a bill for a cellular one phone i never had i am 25 and the bill is 8 years old so in other words i would of had a cellphone in my name at the age of 17 which is totally not possible since you have to be 19 to even sign a contract in nebraska. So i think this company is totally bogus also i am the financial area. And Creditors can't even collect bills over seven years old. Also the only cell i have ever had is ALLTELL so explain this to me i have this cellphone number since i was 19. and i called ANFI about it and they could not tell me anything about. their might have been someone with my name elsewhere i told them but they assured it was me and they wanted my SS number and all this other information on me i told them to go to hell. If it was a real bill they would of had that info already and could of told me. But they want me to verify it F*CK that they can verify it to me.

My father (who is in his 70s) received a collections notice from AFNI in May of 2007 alleging that he owed Verizon of New York for a past due bill. My father has (1) never lived in New York, (2) has never maintained a relationship with Verizon of New York. We called the Company and we received by a less than pleasant customer service person who used a very threatening tone of voice with my father. We then followed up with a letter to the Company. We thought that the matter was resolved UNTIL, he received another letter in November of 2007 concerning another past due item tied to Bell Atlantic. We pulled his credit report and there is NO evidence of either claim on his credit report. We followed up to AFNI's second letter with another telephone call to the 800-number noted on the letter. We also mailed the company another letter. This time, we've copied Lisa Madigan the Illinois Attorney General, Congressman Mark Kirk, the Chicago Trubune, and Carol Marin of the Chicago Sun Times. This Company is taking advantage of senior citizens who simply don't have the resources and/or technological prowress to navigate the nasty web of lies that they attempt to promulgate. This Company is the epitome of what is wrong in this society.

I recently received a collection letter from Afni about a supposed telephone service bill from Pacific Bell that is 91/2 years old! This bill was paid way back then, but they were quite rude on the phone and were not interested in anything I had to say. They offered two times to "settle" -- first for $80.00 less, then for 50%. I have documented proof that the amount was paid. I am sending them that, plus I am going to complain to every consumer affairs agency --state and federal -- that will affect them. I welcome anyone who has had similar experiences to advise me of what else I can do to stop these scam artists.

Today I received a collection notice from Afni, Inc. for a Verizon bill that was over 7 years old. I live in the state of Kansas were the statute of limitations is 3 years. I am definitely taking everyone advice and reporting this collection agency.

My wife received a notice of collections for an Alltel bill from this Afni collections agency for nearly $800 for some cell phone service I was supposed to have had. I HAVE NEVER USED ALLTEL in the 10 years I have been using cellular phone connections. This has got to be some sort of fraud scheme going on. I recently received a loan to have a home built, pay ALL my bills on time and then some, and take great pride in my AAA credit history. I have never heard of or seen or have ever received anything from Alltel EVER. What the heck is going on Afni? Also, the day after my wife received the notice I called the toll free 866 # to dispute this matter; the number would not go through. Some sort of funny business you guys got going Afni. I am currently serving in Iraq and if this matter is going to go further Afni will be hearing from my JAG officer faster than they can accuse me twice of owing Alltel one red cent!

I had a sprint cell phone account that unfortunately went into collections. afni-bloom put that account on my credit and then reported an account for the same amount that was opened in 1970. I was not born until 1981! Big rip offs and I am thinking a suing

I called AFNI and the rep said that she only saw one account for me so it must be an error made on Experians end. She told me that once they get the payment it should be taken care of. I'll find out in a couple of weeks I guess

Theres no need to sue, just contact sprint and ask to speak to their escalations department. Then ask the lead rep. that you get on the phone if they have any way of sending an e-mail or letter to you stating that you only have one account in a collections agency and the actual amount, send that information to Afni, if the collections agency gives you any problems then I would consider taking legal action.

Andersen Financial Network (ANFI)
ATTN: Validation of Debt Request
404 Brock Dr.
Bloomington, Illinois, 61702

I have paid Afini and afini bloom 2x $379 for an Alltel account from 6 years or more ago. I didn't realize I had paid 2x it was years aprt and I was trying to purchase RE.
I filed several dispute letters wit5h all 3 credit reporting agencies (they are the culprit) they remove afini and then before you know it it's back on my report.
I don't owe them anything they owe me I have never heard from them and can't get through on the phone.
What do I do next?

I was looking at my credit report and saw that I owe AFNI-BLOOM $264.00 and I dont even know nothing about this company, my credit score has went down because of this I need to know how to get this off my credit report!

Afni-Bloom, has just reported on my Credit that I owe them money from a cingular bill that I had in 2000. They have damaged my credit more than it already was:) Don't be scared if they have done this to you. There are alot of business out there that will work with you for loans and such. you just have to do your research. I have crappy credit and my highest interest rate is 8% on a loan that I took out for consolidation.

Here is a # I just called to dispute something on my credit report [protected]

I have noticed, or been told by a company I was applying for credit with that AFNI-Bloom has something on my credit as well and there is no information on them at all. I have no contact information for them nor does it show an account number or date for them. I am in the same boat only I do not have the information I need to try to dispute it or do anything about it, not that it would help. Do you have any contact information for this company?

Thanks, Rhonda purpletazz75@yahoo.com.

AFNI steals your identity!

They Phish for your info then send you a collection for notice a bill that is not yours, or possibly anyones. Being a collection agency they are permitted to view credit reports. When they find a candidate they think will pay they send you a collection notice. They will not have any full information just partial. Only what they can retrieve from your credit report. They are banking on the fact that you will just pay it than fight it.

I too received a collection notice from AFNI about a verizon number I had more than 12 years ago in NY. And I too had another Verizon number in New York after the first one, at a different address - could I have established it if I had owed them a balance on the previous account? Doubtful. This is the kind of guesswork left to me, these 12 or more years later... Verizon today has no record of me, but asked if I'd like to start up service with them. After some research I found like many people here that Verizon sold AFNI an extensive and it seems faulty laundry list of numbers which had outstanding amounts that go way, way, WAY back. The only Co. which claims to have records today is the collection agency, so if the balance is an error on Verizon's part, then we no longer have proper defense to dispute charges. So basically, I found out today that I live in a country where a regulated public company can easily sell your name attached to an outstanding bill to a collector, which will in turn hold your credit score ransom until you pay an amount which you may have already paid in say, 1996. I've heard a lot about SOL here but at the end of the day our credit report is vulnerable and if the timing is wrong, it could have consequences for people. People who may have even paid all their bills fair and square and now must pay again to "make it all go away." Excuse me for pointing out the obvious but, this should never be possible in the first place. I blame Verizon first, and though I may sound idealistic - I blame my government for allowing this practice to be partially legitimate. I'm not the type to picket so I've settled on a far more practical approach. I will never be a Verizon customer. Ever. This is a fact. AFNI may get their $20 once they supply me with a makeshift copy of my supposed unpaid bill, and Verizon now has the handful of pennies for the sale of that bougus info. But in the longterm, Verizon will lose this customer for a lifetime of business.

Actually if you all must know, there are only two states (WI & MS) that have a statute at which point all collections must stop which is 6 years (same for credit reporting.) Other than that it's fair game. Every other state has a status of 7 years credit reporting and no statute on how long they can collect. My advice is to pay ALL your bills and most importantly, keep receipts. I mean, yeah the debt might be old and forgotten, but if the bill was actually never paid, be happy you got away with it as long as you did. Most collection agencies will settle debts with you anyways, depending on how old it is you can save up to 50% or so. Some collection agencies are complete scandals, but from personal experience AFNI is a straight up legit company, only thing is, their clients sell them your debts and it's their job to collect, if it's someone to be angry with it's the original creditors.

Collection companies use unfair tactics sometimes

Good evening... I'd like to show you a quote from some site. This website specializes in helping consumers with issues out of their hands and out of control. I do not work or write for this site; I simply have watched it with pride for over a year. They have lawyers and a boatload of numbers that may help you and others on this site to escalate problems with companies to the executive level all the way up to the CEO in some cases.

On your issue: Credit/Collections. A sample of what constitutes a collectible debt...

First the conversation, then after the tags are comments from the users from all over the world:

05 08 2007
Interviews
Debt Collector Trying To Collect 7 Year Old Debt 3,752 Views

NOTE-IM conversation begins-----> james: my wife got a collection notice yesterday about a verizon account she had with roommates in college back in 2000
james: account was transferred when she moved out, there was remaining balance, verizon never alerted her and she just heard from collections yesterday, 7 years later
benpopken: ha
benpopken: 7 years?
benpopken: that debt cannot be collected

Afni Collections physical address is:

404 Brock Drive
Bloomington, IL 61701

but google maps points to an empty parking lot.

I what paid this bill my account number is [protected]-02 amount due is 260.22

I too recvd a letter from AFNI for a Bell Atlantic bill. I think i had a Bell Atlantic line 7 to 8 years ago and don't remember NOT paying their bill as if one didn't pay, they would turn off your phone. This is typical AFNI style strongarm collection tactics-I dealt with them recently on an old VONAGE bill (which the company wrote off since their service did not work, meanwhile, AFNI, 2 years later wanted me to produce documents or pay the bogus bill). This is what they do. I will dispute them and file complaints with all the right authorities.

Everybody, this is happening to a lot of people right now: every billing mistake ever resolved with Bell Atlantic, NYNEX, etc, every ID fraud case already straightened out, etc, etc way back from the 1990s is suddenly coming to life again after Verizon sold off these bogus uncollectable debts to ANFI.

You can find a lot of resources out on the web about how to approach these cases, but most of them will tell you to send a dispute letter to them by certified mail and ask them for reasonable documentation (billing history, bills, judgements, etc) and telling them that you do not owe this money. Make sure the certified mail is return receipt requested so that you have proof you did this.

Next, you need to file complaints with the FTC, your state's department of consumer affairs, and the Attorneys General of Illinois, your own state, and the state where ANFI now alleges you incured the debt.

If they try to sue you or put this on your credit report, go get an attorney who specializes in consumer protection laws and sue them.

I currently received a bill from the same company the other day for 104.32. When I called the company they stated that this was from 1999 and that I am still liable for the bill. I do not recall a outstanding bill from bell atlantic. I recently purchased a home and this particular debt was not on my credit report. I did call the collections agencey and she asked how I was going to pay. I stated this is extorsion! I refuse to pay... for something I have no clue about in 1999. What options do I have?

I too received a notice from Afni claiming I owed $300.01 on an old Bell Atlantic (now Verizon) bill from 10 years ago. I don't recall ever having a Bell Atlantic account and neither Bell Atlantic at the time or Verizon has ever contacted me concerning this debt. The rep from Afni claims Verizon did an internal audit and this is how they discovered the debt.

I am sending Afni a letter requesting verification of the debt and also told the rep I wanted copies of the bills that shows phone service and the calls placed that comprise the debt. He said they do not have that information and the burden of proof was not on them.

Thank goodness I found this sight. My husband received a letter yesterday for the same issues. This so called debt has to be over ten years old as he has moved and been in another state. The time frame doesn't add up either. He was still living at home with his parents and would have had no need for phone services in his name. I refuse to call them and decided to call Verizon instead. They couldn't even give me the address to where this home phone service was connected because it drops out of their system after 7 years. Why would I pay anything that did not have viable proof accompanying it. These people are full of IT! Totally. I even did a BBB check on them and they have a satisfactory rating. How I ask? They obviously have had numerous complaints, yet they continue to get away with this. I refuse to fall into this trap. If this charge was an issue why has it never been on my husbands credit? Makes no sense.

I received one of these bogus letters sent to my maiden name and called to tell them they were absolutely wrong about the collection. They tried to pin a bill on me from 1995 in Brooklyn, NY. I've never even been to Brooklyn, NY. They gave me the street number and phone #. They knew the last 4 of my social. They told me to go to their website and download a fraud complaint form. There was no form anywhere. I emailed for help and received a form saying they wanted copies of everything from a utility bill from 1995 to my current drivers license. The clincher was that they wanted a copy of my social security card. That was a huge red flag.

The statute of limitations is about 7 years that this account can be placed on your credit report. So, don't worry about it. Don't you DARE pay any amount or even agree to pay any amount on this old debt. This is a typical trick where they buy debts for pennies on the dollar and attempt collections with fear and intimidation.

If you pay anything, or agree to pay anything, they can open this debt back up and start from zero on your credit report. That means if you pay, they can put this on your credit report now and it will stay there for 7 years.

DO NOT DO ANYTHING!

If the notices are for something like a court judgment then the limitations statute might be null and void.

I too am a victim of the dreaded Collection Notice however I can take this one step further... I called and they even have the last four of my social. Where are they getting this info? I have never resided at the address that they stated the phone bill was at in 1997 nor did I live in the City. I find it odd that they misspelled my first name and used my maiden name.

They politely offered to settle for a lesser amount however; why should I pay for a debt that isn't mine!

I will send a dispute letter but I'm totally agitated that I must prove my innocence.

As many others I have just received a bogus bill from AFNI its from an old address I had 9 years ago I don't recall having this phone number, if so why would I get contacted so late along with no mark on my credit. They only sent me a letter showing half of the proof I asked. Does anyone have any advice in battling these guys. This well worth the fight. They should not get away with this.

I actually used t work with this company and can understand some frustration this might help some of you and with other collection agencies.
Are they calling because they own the debt or do they call saying they are a "third party collection agency" for verizon or cingular? If they are not third party then they may have purchased the debt from VZ or Cingular. This is perfectly legal and they can put it on your credit report if it is under 7 years old. Keep in mind that the only way that they get this is from the company they say the bill is from. Often people will contact a company like Cingular without realizing they have an internal collections department and they may have records not available to their customer service, or may have wiped the records if they sold the debt to afni or another agency. Afni is the jewel of collection agencies and prides itself in being overly compliant with the law, so don't take the frustrations out on the person on the phone. Here is what i would do.

1. If any agency tries to collect on a bill over seven years old politely ask them for their address then send them a letter certified mail asking them not to contact about the matter any further, some will do this if you tell them but legally they can keep calling unless you do so in writing.
2. Fraud is only a valid defense if you never had the service, arguing that you never had the service when you lived at the address of the service will get you nowhere. keep in mind that the burden of proof is on you when it comes to your credit report. If you never lived at the service address you must show where you lived during that time, tax returns, bills, insurance are all ways you can prove where you lived. If someone has stolen your identity they have committed a crime! This includes family members! To claim this as fraud where you are not responsible you must file a police report, and a report to the Federal Trade Commission. This is very important because people that steal identities won't just use them once, these reports will help with future problems. If it was a family member that did this keep in mind that if they did it to you what would they be willing to do to someone else?
3 Read two things, The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act they dictate how agencies can collect debts and you can file a FCRA complaint when they overstep their bounds.
4 Ask if they will settle this for a lesser amount. Many times the older the debt the more likely they are to settle this. Most agencies will give you a first notice and 30 days before they report the debt to a credit bureaus, if the debt is already been reported to the bureaus keep in mind that if you take a settlement it will be reported as "Settled In Full" not "Paid In Full" and this may affect your credit less favorably. Get any settlement in writing before you pay it.
5 This will not work with AFNI because it is a legally gray area, but ask for credit deletion in exchange for payment, sometimes it works sometimes it does not.
6. Record every conversation, If they break the law this may be your best proof.
7. Ask for a bill copy, and do so in a formal dispute in writing if you think you do not owe the bill.
8. Do everything in writing and keep copies of it all and any responses.
9. Know the laws of your state, some states are more restrictive than the federal laws.
10. If you owe the bill pay the damn thing! Don't refuse to pay because you did not like the service or its just the "principle" of it. You may think that $200 phone bill won't affect you credit but if you refinance a house and it lowers your credit scour just enough to cause the bank to loan you the money at a interest rate only a fraction of a percent higher in can cost you more in the long run. For example a house loan for $100,000 for thirty years the difference between 6.00 and 6.1% interest is over $1,159
11. Read all terms and conditions of any service agreement! Phone, Cable, Sattelite and other companies have very restrictive language in their service agreements, there are often clauses only allowing returns within 30 days, early termination fees ( with some phone companies $200 per line thats $1000 for cell phone family plans with 5 phones!, and of course you may think that you will just sue them but guess again you agreed to waive that right! The best defense you have is keeping informed and get involved with group putting pressure on politicians.

My daughter received a bill from AfNI amounting to charges in excess of $1100 for a Verison New York phone number. Ironically, she's never lived in New York. I filed a complaint with the Verison and said they needed to prove that the number was once owned by my daughter. They said I needed to take it up with AFNI. I said, "AFNI says I need to take it up with you..." This conversation went back and forth with Verison several times. The more I insisted that they produce some sort of records the more they began to question AFNI. The next thing I know, I get a letter from AFNI telling me that "..they've investigated (I know, I was shocked, too) my dispute related to the referenced account and based on their investigation the account was being close." WOW you say? Don't be so sure. Two months later my daughter gets a bill from AFNI "making us a settlement offer to pay HALF the amount due on our over due account..." I'm telling you, they're a bunch of idiots with bogus credit reports who prey on good people with good credit histories to get MORE MONEY because they know they'll pay rather than risk getting dunned on their credit reports. It's shameful. Report this agency to everyone you can!

Today I received a collection notice from Afni, stating that I owed $293.34 to Verizon North, Inc. Also today, I received a settlement offer to resolve this matter if I would pay half the amount! I have never had the phone number they listed and I have never lived in Bloomington, IN. I sensed right away that it must be a scam and that was verified when I checked my credit report-Afni was not listed, and I saw the 300+ complaints against Afni on a Rip-Off website. The scam must be working or else they would not continue with this scam. It's incredible to me that it takes so long for the Indiana Atorney General to put a stop to this. I live in East Texas and can see that this scam is all over the US.

I received a settlement offer to pay the half balance $92.06 of the original amount was $184.11. Once I paid the $92.06 this account will be closed and I will no have to worry about this obligation. I have copy of this offer. Afni Account # [protected]-02 , creditor singular creditor account # [protected]. I received this settlement offer 9/14/2007. My address is P O BOX 1121 Camuy P R 00627 . Call me [protected].

We received a collections notice for $117.70 for a bill back in june of 98 that afni is trying to collect. I called verizon the customer service rep. said they have been receiving calls like this for the past couple of weeks, she told me not to pay and contact your local house of representatives. So I am in the process of that. located in upland, ca.

Can some one help me on AFNI INc. Today I checked my credit report and In my history it was said that I owe 1600+ dollars for singular. They told that it was the bill from singular in Sep2001. The funnest part is I came to US on 2003 only. How can I have a bill with singular from 2001 onwards. When I called AFNI on the same they are asking every thing including Address, Social, and employer etc... They gave me a number and asked to file a complaint in www.afnicollections.com and they gave me a AFNI account #. But it never worked for me... when i try to reach the same people I am not getting a response at all. It says register an appointment to speak to a customer service agent. To do this I ahve to book an appointment from the same website where i didn't find such link at all. Now my credit score i went to very bad state because of this. How can I get help on the same. I don't think I can get a solution with AFNI instead I am going to loose my Identity information calling them again. Is there any way I can get rid of this issue...? Is there any government agency where I can make a complaint...? Eagerly waiting for your suggestions friends...

thanks
Suresh...

I to am facing the mighty afni I nicknamed it "ain't found n0-one intelligent!" They claim I owe Cingular 1100 bucks from '02. Cingular is my provider now, and was then. I have tried to resolve this with Cingular and they tell me they don't have me owing this bill... Well, the people at "always frigging nose it" tell me I owe. Put it on my credit report as a "Major Derogatory" but not until I started ### did the MD designation come up. Well piss on em, let my creditors call me on my singular phone number and we can discuss it. I am going to start calling them every moment I have free, like stuck in traffic or whatever and try to resolve this issue at the expense of their bottom line. If the pissants can pay people 9-10 bucks an hour to call and harass, I can sure burn the time sheets up by becoming an inbound pain in the butt. Using my CINGULAR phone. I wonder who Mr. Jacksons boss is? Lol, thats who I wanna talk to.

The SAME thing happened to me.. in 2004 I closed my cingular account for orders overseas (military).. cingular gave me a zero balance report and here we are in 2007 I get a bill from AFNI for over 100 dollars.. cingular cant help me and AFNI wont hear anything... SUE ME!

I had the SAME thing happen to me with a cable bill! The cable company I had previously had service with was bought out so I couldn't even go back to them about it. I sent AFNI copies of payment as well and they said that account number didn't match their account number. Well neither matched the original account number! So I'm still trying to figure out how to fight this. Their validation of the debt was just a letter saying the debt was verified and I owed them money. If you find out how to fix this, please let me know.

Just got one myself under my husbands name for T-Mobile and that cell phone bill is in my name not his and we had just receved a bill from T-Mobile a few weeks ago.It said we owed less then a 100 dollers and the afni bill was nearly a $1, 000.Both of these fact sent up a red flag for me.

I, too, recieved a collection notice from Afni trying to extort money from an old 1995 Verizon New York phone. It's laughable at best because I've never lived in New York, let alone had a phone there! Upon calling a friend with the news, I learned he also received a similar notice from Afni. It was concerning a phone he did have, but it was from 10 years ago and unfortunately he paid them money because he "just didn't want to deal with it". AAAGH! I wish I would have contacted him sooner, knowing this terrible company has received any money at all upsets me to no end. It's important to everyone involved to make sure you send a certified letter disputing the debt and to contact the Attorney Generals office in both your state and the state of Illinois (Afni's address). Good luck, all!

I was briefly employed by Afni right out of college while looking for other work. I will agree with people's claims that many of the debts they attempt to collect are bad and/or just wrong. As debt collectors, we received a portion of the amounts we collected on and the pushiest, rudest people made pretty good pay there because of that. If you could call someone and toss aside all your moralities, you could threaten them with destroying their credit report and scream at them on the phone. The trick was to not actually listen to their pleas - if that person paid up - YOU COLLECTED PART OF IT.

Keep in mind debt collectors aren't calling you to come to a conclusion or resolution on a debt. The only option is to pay or not to pay. I remember many times collecting on accounts way past the SOL and others where the person involved obviously wasn't the debtor. Old ladies who never even lived in states where the bills occurred. The older and less educated the debtor, the easier the target they were. All it took was confidence, a condescending tone, and threats before they caved. It's a lot like being a police officer during an interrogation. You can lie and threaten to your hearts content to get that person to break.

I left that position after less than a year and really wasn't a very good collector. It's a pretty horrible business and I'd suggest learning your rights under Fair Debt Collections and dealing with them accordingly.

For more than 4 years I do not have a cingular phone and now on my credit record appears an amount of 84 dollars collection from afni saying I did not pay on 2007 to cingular. This is a big fat lie. Somebody needs to do something about this collection company.

I have three debts: my home mortgage, a personal line of credit with my financial institution, and a payment to my health insurance provider. All three of these accounts are current. Although I do very carefully pay some utility bills online, I do not make any on-line purchases nor make mail-order purchases. I just plain don't do it; I make all of my very limited purchases in person. I just received an 'urgent' message from 'Jennifer' at AFNI to return a call to her 'urgent' message. I would return the call, but I am busy and don't want to waste the time to be exasperated by an agent of this company which enjoys a much less than favorable reputation for harassing people. If this is a marketing call, my number is registered on the 'Do-Not-Call Registry'. If it's a collection call, it's a hoax or a scam. I am weary of marketing and other telephone hoaxes. Since no phone number showed on the caller ID, should I simply block all unidentified calls through my telephone service provider?

Uhhhh, Doug. That was the DUMBEST comment I've read on this site YET. Paranoid much? Try to stick with the subject.

In January 2007 I received a letter from AFNI trying to collect $77.54 for Verizon New England, Inc. The DID have my phone number correct, which was unnerving. I called the number on the letter and spoke with 'Daphne'. She said the amount was from December of 1989! I told her this was ludicrous as it was 18 years old. I asked that they mail me a copy of the bill in question and she said they would do so. To date have not received that but did receive another letter last week stating that they were resuming collection activities.

Am glad I found this site and now know it's another scam!

Received a letter today from afni, inc of bloomington, if they say that i owe charter communications $279.19. I have never even done business with charter, so i don't know how they got this from! I would like to know how/where/when they got my name from. The census bureau?

I wouldn't be surprised if the republicans report people who didn't support them in the presidential election. They were after all, wrong about the wmds. Made them up, too.

I'm so glad I googled this company. My husband received a collection letter stating that he had an unpaid balance of $99.69 from ALLTEL. I pay the bills and I pay all of our bills on time. We switched cellular providers 7 years ago. We were with ALLTEL for 4 years and never had a late payment. When the anniversary date was approaching we notified ALLTEL that we no longer needed their service, paid the bill and closed the account. Now 7 years later we receive a collection letter! This is the first correspondence about this, ALLTEL never contacted me about an unpaid debt. I have not moved or changed my home phone number. I sent AFNI a letter disputing the charge and they send me back a letter stating that this letter is verification of the debt. In yesterdays mail there was a solicitation from ALLTEL stating that my husband was 100% pre-approved for great service and a great deal from ALLTEL Wireless. If we left this company owing them money, would they really send an offer like that? I doubt it. The collector I spoke with on the phone also told me that ALLTEL does not have access to information for this account. AFNI expects me to show verification on a 7 year old debt that does not exist, that's outrageous. She also offered to drop the debt to $60.00 if I would pay it now. I told her no. She said she could see that I paid my bills on time and did not have anything else in collections. She also said that she was prepared to turn this into the credit bureau and it will hurt my credit. These rip-off artist need to be stopped!

I too received a notice for a Verizon bill $820.00 from this company. The phone number they listed was never my phnoe number. I am glad I went to the internet because there are several complaints about this collection agency or so called collection agency. I am going to write a dispute letter but I'm not sure it will help.

Afni has been calling my phone twice a day for months in what must be an attempt to collect a debt from someone who gave them the phone number I have assigned to me. I have told them repeatedly that no one by that name lives at this residence nor has anyone by that name ever lived at this address, and that I have never known anyone by that name. They continue to call. Their number is blocked by caller ID so I cannot give the phone company a number to block through their harassment measures. It seems I am fated to continue receiving their calls despite my innocence in this matter. Is there ntohing that can be done to stop their incessant calling? Does this not constitute harassment? Are they free to harass at will?

My fiance recieved something from them and we set up to pay it monthly. Then we were unable to pay them for a few months. They called him and tried to make him pay 200 that day and the rest would be dropped. We couldn't pay it that day so we paid 100 for the next 2 months. They said that, that would satisfy the bill, but they are reporting on his credit report as unpaid balance. I have contacted the company to try to get original documents because he doesn't remember owing a balance when he left cingular. But we were paying this because we are trying to get a house and this is hurting us among other things. But they did tell him that there was a collectors fee. I am trying to find the statement on thier site that says "they do not charge a collectors fee". If anyone can help me with that, that would be great. My email address is j_dunbar2006@yahoo.com

Same problem here. Dispute in writing! Basically, if the debt is older than statute of limitation, usually 4-6 years depending on what state you live in, they cannot take any legal action to collect the debt and if the last "missed payment" is more than seven years ago they have no right to report this to your credit report Found great info on this site.

http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/index.html

I live in Australia and I've been here for almost 7 years. I was in the military for 20 years and lived in several different states. AFNI sent a letter to my sisters address in my name saying they were trying to collect a 60.00 debt for AT&T but will accept 30.00. I don't remember using AT&T for about 10-12 years and I know I owe them no money. What do I do about this?

OMG!Im GOING THROUGH THE SAMETHING...just found out today that I owe a 500 bill and I have never had a cell phone with verizon . they are saying it was from 4 years ago. my question was why didnt anyone contact via snail mail or any other way? Usually when things go to collections you get a letter in the mail from ACS. I also looked at my credit report and there is nothing on there saying anything about a debt that wasnt paid and went into collections! PISSSSSSSSSSED OFFFFF!

AFNI refuses to provide proof it is mine. So, I got the Michigan attorney general involved. AFNI finally provided a bill long past the statute of limitations. Oh, but not to me, that would have been to easy, to the AG. The AG is nice and following up but it has been 5 months since the first complaint and 2 months since the second follow up. I get the feeling there is more important stuff to do while in office like text messaging interns. He is due to respond any month now. {sarcasm} If I wasn't so interested in the class action status and shutting AFNI and Verizons practices down, I would drag the punks through the county court. They already have a removal date showing on my reports and it might just fall off before they do a damn thing.

I just received a fraudlent claim from Afni, Inc.

In doing a research, I transferred from US NAVAL WEAPONS STATION SEAL BEACH, CA in September of 1994.

At that time the area code was 310, in 1997 the area code was changed to 562.

I know I paid my bill because the Commanding Officer will not allow a transfer go through with any services not paid by the United States Navy.

I am only 32 years young and received something from Afni claiming I owe a bill for $642 from when I was 18 years old. I have a credit score of 770. I'm not one to not pay my bills. I asked them to see the bill since I have no recollection of such an outstanding bill and they told me the bill they sent me is the bill. I said NOOOOOO... i want to see the usage otherwise how do I know this isnt a mistake? Very rude customer service people who didn't want to hear anything. I have a verizon land line and cell phone in my name and called Verizon and they said they "SOLD" afni the past due accounts from Bell Atlantic. I'm sure you all remember Bell Atlantic it went out of business in like 1995. I believe this is some kind of scam and since I have such good credit I'm extremely nervous about not paying. Any ideas? HELP! IRS only requires you to retain information for 7 years. This is going on 14 years! How could I ever prove that I paid something that I'm not even sure I owe this money? Come on I was 18. I paid the bill and threw it out.

While I agree with people on here if it is a fraudulent account, PEOPLE WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE! You have to PROOF it's fraud. If we could all say "such and such bill is fraud" then we wouldn't owe any bills! You have to PROOF that YOU weren't living at the service address during the dates of services.

AFNI is a collection agency. They are NOT require to provide an itemized statement & they can't PROVIDE IT if THEY ARE NOT GIVEN IT! Duh! So they send you a "validation of debt" letter stating you owe the money. Now, NO I DO NOT WORK FOR THEM. So DON'T GET ANY IDEAS :P.

I do agree with many of you, it is UP TO US TO CHANGE THE LAWS. I DO NOT AGREE that companies should be able to sell old accounts to collections agencies such as AFNI. But to call AFNI a scam? Come on! They are a collection agency! And they are there to collect a debt. If people want to be BABIES and NOT FILE CLAIMS STATING IT IS NOT THEIR ACCOUNT then DON'T. IT WILL GO ON YOUR CREDIT REPORT!

But getting back to you Tracey, you need to provide PROOF to AFNI. Get a copy of your lease agreement, if your landlord has any old copies of utility bills get copies of those. Make sure they are around the time frame of telephone service. Send all that to AFNI then it will show that you didn't establish telephone service at that place. Provide them proof of copies of your residency if you were living somewhere else at the time with copies of bills that show a different address.

Pablo

Does anyone know exact date no guessing when GTE became Verizon ? How long GTE was GTE ?

Get this... I left an abusive marriage over a decade ago and moved out of state. When I left, I shut off ALL services including the land line phone service. Yes, that means I disconnected the service completely. I had paid the balance due on all of my utilities including the phone company. Apparently, my ex husband must have had the phone company turn the service back on when he returned and racked up an over $200 bill.

Fast forward to today... I get a collection bill from Afni, Inc. wanting me to pay this bill from over a decade ago that I didn't even know was in existence. I called the company and the woman I spoke to was very condescending and treated me like a CRIMINAL before I could get a word in. The conversation went downhill from there and the woman hung up on me. I called back, talked to a man who was a shade nicer but said that because I was still married and my ex turned the phone back on I was still liable for the bill. When I asked what the statute of limitations was, he said there was no statute of limitations then my present hubby looked it up and found that the statute of limitations on this bill would have been 2 to 4 years.

Verizon has gone nuts! I have a Verizon CELL phone and I'm going to shut it off. I'll GLADLY pay the termination fee for shutting service off before the end of the contract. I'll NEVER, EVER do business with Verizon again in my life!

I'M ALSO NOT PAYING THIS BILL! GR!

Is there a class action lawsuit going on or know of people starting one up? I'll certainly get in on it. Email me.

Qwkfingers.

I recently reveived a bill from Afni for $82.76 for a disconnected phone number. The funny thing is the phone is not disconnected and I am current on my bill. When I called Verizon they could not tell me anything except that it was an old bill. I said if my account is current then how could I have an old bill. This makes no sense. I am writing to the BBB, FTC, my local government officials and anyone else I can think of.

Same exact thing happened to me. I have gone through all the proper channels to dispute this: all 3 Credit Bureaus, AFNI themselves, BBB, FTC, Attorney General, and lastly I contacted all of my local news stations (haven't heard back from any of them yet though). NOTHING is working to erase this bogus collection. My credit score was perfect before this! It is infuriating! What are we supposed to do?

Just like Ikki, I was sent a letter from AFNI (very first letter from them btw, and it was sent AFTER my complaint to the BBB which they have STILL not responded to) they asked me for my personal info! I don't think so buddy! Why isn't there some class-action suit against this fraudulent company? I too am a homeowner and we'd like to refinance soon; now I can't because of this.

Isn't there ANYONE who can help us with this?

I received bill from 1999, of address where I never lived...

#$ 55. I called Verizon. They have no record.

I send registered mail, asking for copy of bill to Afni. Instead, they send another form asking more personal information !

I am not gonna reply...

My plan is to send letter to 3 credit bureaus...disputing any charges.

I agree its verizon who is culprit, legally as well as morally. They should be brought to justice.

My 93 year old father received a collection notice today from Afni, Inc. It is for $868.45 for AT&T Mobility. First of all, my father has never had a cell phone and if he had one now he wouldn't know how to operate it at his age. I called AT&T and she said there was no account number, which was on the notice. She gave me a number for the fraud department and on Monday I will be calling them. I tried calling the Afni number, busy all the time as some of you stated. I am so glad that I looked up this website and found that this was a fraud..Why doesn't someone do something about this. Im sure there are some older people out there that just go ahead and pay this.
I had a similar problem a couple years ago when a phone company was charging my father for internet service. He wouldn't know how to turn a compuer on. They had been charging him for 11 months. They told me they would give him 3 months back. I told them that wasnt good enough and they wouldnt budge. I called our local tv station and they came to my house. Within 5 minutes of talking to the phone company they said they would send the 11 months charge to him. That mad me very happy.
Thanks everyone for writing your story, it helped alot.

excuse my language...

f*** Verizon and f*** afni on behalf of the employees...poor training, lack of supervisor support/supervisor call avoidance...and when their ### training and inconsistent policies and procedures come to fruition, the employees take the fall...even after explaining their understanding of what they were trained to do... the sup can just shrug and say it looks like an attempt at fraud, when it was re bundling to assist the customer...also customers should know that operators are pressed hard to sell even inn you are calling to cancel, and get fired for not making enough sales, hold time has nothing to do with the operators and they don't want you to be on hold either...and it is the supervisors that refuse to take sup calls. there is no employee support, there is only barking and finger pointing, and if an operator takes the time to help you and guide you through your issue, there is a sup standing over them, barking for their call time. I have worked for years in the hospitality industry and convention services for a big resort, I also worked phones and billing. I am currently in school with a 4.0... I am far from illiterate, and I get customer service... I have never ever witnessed such gross mismanagement and employee abuse. As a previous Verizon customer, I am familiar with their tricky billing and dumped them in 2008. I don't think this is all Verizon trying to trick people, but I do think that their outsourcing with afni, who hires anyone, but has poor human resources, is the reason there is so many billing issues. Call centers are hell. and yes there are disgruntled customers...yes there are some that want something for nothing, yes there are some that don't seem to want to pay there bill, but I also think that some of this is poor training. The sups care more about their stats from their team, so they can get bonuses then they do the employees under them. Pushing operators off calls, and being hostile about it when the person is legitimately trying to retain and assist customers should be a crime...and the VTO/PTO system is criminal as well...and if you don't sell enough, they FIND a ### way to write you up... like your meticulous notes disappearing... all in all... this is a b.s. system... no I do not work there... I would never ever work there, nor will I EVER have a Verizon product because of this...because, if an employee is not trained properly, and they are too busy throwing the entry level employees under the bus... you very well may have a fraudulent bill. why am I writing this? too many friends and family have worked there, good decent people... my kid wanted to apply there...hell no. not ever. They would prefer that you sell more products to people that can't afford it and let them dig themselves a grave than letting an operator work with the customer and retain the customer. I really questioned some of my family and friends and thought, "what the hell kind of place is this, and does Verizon KNOW this is going on? or is this exactly what they want?" of course all corporations want money...but at what cost in the long run?

I have been having problems with Afni Collections with a Cingular bill which has been paid, but according to my credit report it has not been rectified.

If anybody filed a complaint with this company did that rectified their problem..

My wife just received a collection notice in the mail yesterday from AFNI in an attempt to collect $225.56 for a land line phone from Verizon New York Inc. 1) We have never lived in New York, 2) We have never had land line service with Verizon, and 3) It came with her maiden name (we've been married 10 years). We sent a certified letter to them today to dispute the debt and I am soliciting counsel at the present time to pursue litigation in the matter, regardless of AFNI's response.

uh hello this seems to be the biggest misunderstanding of a law i think i have ever seen... has anyone on here actually read the FDCPA or FCRA? The law protects you from taking legal action or credit reporting over seven years. But there is NO statut on the collection of a DEBT, that means the company can collect it send you letters, and cont. to contact you unless you send a cease communication letter. And as for afni putting it on your credit that is the biggest line of BS i have ever seen... even if afni was a shady company and attemped to submit it to the credit it would be turned down so quickly you would believe it, so moving forward read the actual laws from the govt website or actual contact the FTC they will be more then happy to explaine the laws to you correctly.

I have never had a phone with ATT, I have sprint and verizon which right now are open and active accounts. I found on my credit report that I owe ATT $100.00. Afini is who is charging me, saying that it was opened December 2008. I haven't opened up any account in December but my Verizon account in which the bill is paid and up to date. I want this off my credit report. I have disputed it with Experian two times and they still will not take it off...

I also am on the receiving end of this AFNI scam. They have me as a past due of $1004.86, AllTel. However, they will graciously accept $502.43. I do have an active AllTel account in good standing. What in the world can one do to get them shut down. I don't appreciate the aggrivation, time, energy, etc. that has to be devoted to stop this nonsense.

They have their own complaint site: afniwatch.blogspot.com and if you like that then look at collectionagencyhallofshame.blogspot.com as well bud hibbs own excellent site.

Good luck.

Listen people if you do not owe them anything contact the attorney general office in your state and ask them to please send afni inc a letter so that they stop the harrsing calls... I did so because after sending afni a dispute letter and afni ignored my dispute letter I got fed up. Afni has stopped calls and they are going to get sued... They not only harrased they did not respect the SOL... Sue them the more people that sue's afni the faster this collection agency will go out of business.

Did you know that you could sue afni... they are being sued by the state of Minnesota?