What To Do If the First Invoice You Receive Comes from a Debt Collector!
by DebtReliefDougA friend called me today to ask for advice about a situation that has arisen in his financial life.
He and his wife had some work done on their roof late last year. He has been waiting on the invoice but, alas, no invoice has been forthcoming.
Yesterday, he received a notice from a debt collector referencing the roofer’s repair bill and stating that they have been given the responsibility of collecting the debt.
My buddy wanted to know what to do. Pay the bill that he’d been expecting? Call the roofer? Call the collector?
If you find yourself in this situation, I advise you to do what I advised him. When a third party calls or sends a notice informing you that they are collecting a debt on behalf of another party, don’t automatically believe that they are telling the truth - even if you know that you owe the debt.
Remember, your obligation is to pay the party with whom you have a business relationship with. You have no obligation to a third party debt collector unless they can show you documentation that they have been contracted by the original service provider. Otherwise, you have no proof that the money will reach the party that you originally hired.
It does happen that people have paid a third party debt colleciton agency only to find that that’s as far as their money goes. It never reaches the business that did the work!
What if the third party has purchased the debt? Again, you have no obligation to pay someone who has not provided the service. They may own the debt. But you have no obligation to them.
The bottom line is that if someone you don’t know comes asking for money, ask them to provide the documentation containing your wet-ink signature. If they can’t, you don’t pay.
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