Nobody wants to get a call from a debt collector. They can be abusive and nasty, using harassing calls, threats, and obscene language in an attempt to collect money. And it can be a very stressful experience—driving people to the edge. But what happens when they call the wrong person and begin to harass people to pay a debt that is not rightfully theirs? Well, it may well be illegal.

In the last few years, debt and zombie debt—debt that may be a decade or more old—are routinely bought and sold in bundles for pennies on the dollar, says the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) and the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) in a June 2007 article on Consumer Affairs website, titled, "Consumer Groups Decry Debt Collection Horror Stories."

Debt Is Sold to a New Collector

When debt is being passed from one collector to next, critical information is rarely kept. Proof of the original debt gets lost along with contact information. An old phone number linked to that debt could remain in creditors' databases for years. When the phone company decides to recycle that number, innocent people—who had nothing to do with the original debt—end up with that old phone number.

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