Expert: Michael Fay - 11/10/2010

Question
QUESTION: Hello:  Today I received a phone call from an attorney's office claiming to be collecting a debt.  Almost 6 years ago, I bailed someone out of jail and they did not show up for court.  There was a warrant issued, I assisted the bail bondsmen in finding the person and the person was picked up and has since been to court for this and gone before a judge.  I was told then by the owner of the company that I had nothing to worry about.  I signed this bail with a company named A Plus that is no longer in business.  The 'attorney' (if they really are that) says the debt is with South Side.  I do know the man who owned A Plus now has South Side but I have never done business with South Side.  Also, the date I signed this was January 3, 2005, and this is the first time I have been contacted by anyone regarding this.  I feel this is a scam.  Can you give me the legalities of this and tell me how I should handle this 'collection attorney' please?  Thank you.

ANSWER: Tonya,
Like you, I am suspicious of the claim(s) being presented (although probably not a suspicious as you are).  However, if they are really an attorney they should have no issues in presenting you with necessary documentation:
a) the paperwork to substantiate the validity of the supposed claim
b) the paperwork that authorizes them to act on behalf of both the original owner (A Plus) and the new business (South Side)
c) the paperwork that counters the court records indicating that the person supposedly did not appear before a judge.

If all they have so far is your phone number, I don’t know how comfortable you are having them send you something in the mail.  However, written records will be the only way to get to the bottom of this.  My second concern is if you had provided any security for the bail bond (like house or car).  If you had, then you need to make sure that no such claim is attempted to be enforced and written correspondence will be the best (and maybe only) way to make sure that doesn’t happen.

If interested, you can call the Clark Howard help line at 877-87-CLARK or direct dial at 404-872-0750.  This sounds like something that he might need to hear about, perhaps this is a new form of scam that others need to be aware of as well – even me, since I provided bail for someone at about the same time that you did.  Clark Howard’s staff is very helpful and might have some ideas that I did not cover.

Best of luck, I would be interested to hear what happens.
Michael


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your quick reply!  I called the City Courthouse today.  The lady told me there was no bond forfeiture and the warrant was recalled in court and the charge was dropped to a lesser charge and the fine was paid.  The bail bondsman never paid anything.  This is definitely a scam.  I will call the Clark Howard helpline and report them as soon as I receive the 'letter' they said they sent in the mail.  Is there any other place I should report them as well to make sure this does not happen to others?  Thank you.

Answer
I would wait until you get “the letter” and then I would also report them to your state’s attorney general’s office.   Besides the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) there could be many other laws being violated and the attorney general would love to get some good publicity after the recent election by coming down hard on somebody like that.