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Woman's family harassed by debt collectors

01:29 PM PDT on Tuesday, July 8, 2008

By JESSE JONES / KING 5 News

Video: Woman's family harassed by debt collectors
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Anna Holder couldn't believe the nerve of a company called Litigation Consulting Service out of Maryland, which was pressuring her grandmother into paying a debt Anna didn't owe.

"She received a phone call that I owed money to somebody and that I was going to go to court and potentially go to jail and she wanted to know if she should pay it," said Anna.

"They never contacted me before. They called my grandmother. They called my work and they called my parents."

Anna called Litigation Consulting Service to ask about the so-called debt.

"They told me about this debt that I had for $760," she said.

The company had her birth date wrong, didn't have her current address, and wouldn't provide any proof of the debt.

Anna ran her credit report for us and there were no negative accounts or collections on it.

So she told the Litigation Consulting Service "Don't call me again and I'll see you in court."

"Then they called back to my grandmother and tried to get my address from her," she said.

We quickly reported the company to Chuck Harwood with the Federal Trade Commission.

"They are violating the Federal Fair Debt Practices Act," he said.

He said it's illegal to reveal a consumer's debt to a third party.

"She should not pay the money… some people will pay to get those debt collectors off their back. That's a bad thing to do. You are simply encouraging these folks to do it in the future," he said.

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"I figure there has to be people that actually paid it and that would be a shame because it would be a hard time trying to get the money back from them," said Anna.

We've learned that Litigation Consulting Service also goes by the names North American Asset Investigation and Global Asset Investigation Services.

Be very careful if they call. Remember these tips if they do:

- If you don't think you owe the debt, make them prove it in writing,

- Don't give up any personal information,

- And if you are not satisfied with their proof, don't pay.

If you have a consumer concern, call Jesse Jones toll-free at 866-51-JESSE or e-mail him at getjesse@king5.com.

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