Debt collector called me over a Condo

[Oglet]

I had a phone call from a debt collector today who is apparently trying to collect on Maintenance Fees for a condo we apparently own from Vacation Villas in Titusville and here is where it gets weird.

He explained that there is a clear deed in our names that was filed in Brevard County back in September of last year, he gave very specific details about prior addresses, SS#'s (which I didnt confirm) DOB, Work History etc... he even said that he is sending a copy of the deed which is free and clear to us as proof.

I explained we have never owned a timeshare and unless we pay the $500 maintenance fees they would proceed to the next step whatever that might be. I told him someone might have put it into our name without our permission and he said that in the state of Florida this is perfectly legal and doesnt even require our signature.

Just a very weird situation and after calling Vacation Villas who wouldnt really say anything since its been turned over to a debt collection agency they did admit that there is a deed in our name.

Any ideas about how to handle the situation? I have a group legel plan with Disney and I am sure it covers these kind of situations however its just really weird.

 

[C.Ann]

That is some kind of strange!! Can't imagine anything being legal without your signature..

I would have no further communication with these people at all.. When (and if) they send you the papers, I would take them straight to a lawyer..

Good luck!

 

[Ceila]

I would contact an attorney.

 

[geffric]

That is some kind of strange!! Can't imagine anything being legal without your signature..

I would have no further communication with these people at all.. When (and if) they send you the papers, I would take them straight to a lawyer..

Good luck!

yep that is what i would do.. good advice

 

[Pig Pen]

I would report it to your state's attorney general's office. It may be a scam.

 

[C.Ann]

I would report it to your state's attorney general's office. It may be a scam.

I definitely think it's a debt collection agency "fishing" - for someone that will fall for this line.. Thus the advice not to have ANY contact with them at all and take any paper work received to an attorney..

 

[Oglet]

Thanks, I kind of figure a Lawyer is the best way to handle it however if I actually do have a deed in my name that is just even weirder since I do believe id know if I paid for a condo. I also asked him how he found out all these details about me and he said its on my credit report, can they even pull a credit report without your permission?


The whole thing seems very odd and Im wondering if maybe there isnt some Identity theft going on.

 

[Brit17]

By any chance did you get the name of the Collection Agency? ... ironically, my sister has been getting strange calls from a "collection agency" claiming at first that she owed money on a loan and then claiming she owed money for a bounced check or something ... needless to say, both claims were bogus and it was definitely a scam in her case ... also, after some further research, we found some other similar stories on the internet regarding this "collection agency" and it seems the common denominator was that they would always ask for "$500" in order to "clear up the matter" of whatever it was that they were accusing their victims of not paying ...

As others have said, I would just ignore them until you receive papers from them proving their claim and then I would contact a lawyer or contact your attorney general if you feel it is a scam ...

Good Luck ... I know how disturbing and unnerving this kind of thing can make you feel ...

 

[whatsup]

I had a phone call from a debt collector today who is apparently trying to collect on Maintenance Fees for a condo we apparently own from Vacation Villas in Titusville and here is where it gets weird.

He explained that there is a clear deed in our names that was filed in Brevard County back in September of last year, he gave very specific details about prior addresses, SS#'s (which I didnt confirm) DOB, Work History etc... he even said that he is sending a copy of the deed which is free and clear to us as proof.

I explained we have never owned a timeshare and unless we pay the $500 maintenance fees they would proceed to the next step whatever that might be. I told him someone might have put it into our name without our permission and he said that in the state of Florida this is perfectly legal and doesnt even require our signature.

Just a very weird situation and after calling Vacation Villas who wouldnt really say anything since its been turned over to a debt collection agency they did admit that there is a deed in our name.

Any ideas about how to handle the situation? I have a group legel plan with Disney and I am sure it covers these kind of situations however its just really weird.

Go online to the Brevard County Clerk of Courts website and search public records. You should be able to see the deed for yourself. A lot of the big counties have this online viewing option.

 

[pyrxtc]

I'm pretty sure that there is a place online to see the names on deeds in FL, I know we can find all the DVC deeds on their so if you have one in your name, it should be there. They should be able to tell you who paid for it and when.

Maybe you have a relative who bought it and just hasn't told you or maybe somebody else with your name bought it and i would call them back and ask for proof of ownership and se if they have anything to prove it's you and not someone else with the same name but different social. DO NO GIVE THEM YOUR SOCIAL TO VERIFY !

 

[castmemberb4]

If you get a copy of the deed and can confirm that property really exist, then it likely is a case of idenity fraud.

If not it's probably a scam.

If it's idenity theft and you "own" a condo that you didn't pay for I hope you get to use it But I can't imagine anyone would steal your idenity buy a condo and actually pay for it in full.

I'm leaning toward scam.

 

[Oglet]

AWESOME IDEA!

Look what a search revealed

edited out by me!

I wonder if these people couldnt pay for the maintenance fees and decided to give it away to someone and then it becomes their problem...


Anyone want a free condo

 

[happily single]

Sounds like a scam to me. First of all, most debt collectors send written notice before they start calling you. I wouldn't bother with an attorney who won't know what to do. Basically all the attorney might do is send a letter to the company disputing the charges. BUT the attorney would charge a fee for that. when and IF you do get a letter from this company I would take it to your State's Attorney General Office. Also, have you pulled a credit report lately? You can get one free annually. You might want to double check your report.

 

[castmemberb4]

Keep us posted I'm really interested in knowing what happens with this !

 

[Tuffcookie]

OP, You might want to get a copy of your credit report and see if anything is on there that you do not know about.

TC

 

[whatsup]

Advice to all....Go onto your counties Clerk of Courts website and do a search of your own names. If there is a online view of ANY documents, look through them page by page and look for your SS#, Driver License # etc... if ANY documents show any of your information you can request to the Clerks office to have it redacted ( blocked out). Online is great BUT not when private info is exposed to ANYONE, ANYWHERE in the comfort of their own homes.

 

[cm8]

OP, You might want to get a copy of your credit report and see if anything is on there that you do not know about.

TC

I agree!

 

[LuvOrlando]

all I can say is eek! I hope you can sort this out quickly, I like the sound of the advice you are getting. BTW, thank you for posting about this and thank goodness for The Dis, it always keeps me up to date on scams and cons

 

[KiminChicago]

I started getting calls from a collection agency "Bay Area Collections" -- I think I posted about it on the DIS. It turned out that it was coming from a call center in India and was a total scam. I finally requested that they send me written proof of the debt and I told them that if they didn't stop calling until they could provide the written proof, I was going to my state's Attorney General. That completely stopped all the calls and I haven't heard from them since.

 

[Planogirl]

Thanks, I kind of figure a Lawyer is the best way to handle it however if I actually do have a deed in my name that is just even weirder since I do believe id know if I paid for a condo. I also asked him how he found out all these details about me and he said its on my credit report, can they even pull a credit report without your permission?


The whole thing seems very odd and Im wondering if maybe there isnt some Identity theft going on.

A company can pull your credit report if they claim to have a "justifiable purpose". That's a weird vague term but they do not have to have your express permission.

One thing to consider too is that they have to have information about you before they can even pull a report. They had to have some information about you ahead of time, that is if they even actually pulled a report.