Dec 30, 2007
You're right. "Anonymous" is obviously a collector trying to feed people bad information.
First of all, this is just another typical thuggish debt collector. Anytime someone calls and identifies themselves as "investigator" or "inspector" or "officer" or "agent" or "special agent" without identifying the organization they're with, then you can rest assured it's probably a crooked debt collector. The idea behind using those phony titles is to scare people into thinking they are law enforcement officers and that you're going to be arrested. (Threatening to arrest people is another typical tactic of corrupt debt collectors. Of course, no collection agency has the authority to have anyone arrested for anything and for them to imply otherwise is in itself illegal.) Another common illegal debt collection scam is for the collector to falsely claim that he's an attorney. I heard of a case where an outlaw debt collector gave himself the title "prosecuting attorney." This is all laughable and illegal. A collector has as much authority to arrest you as your barber does. :)
For those being harassed by Windsor Group, don't let the "I'm an investigator" schtick fool you. Windsor is just a collection of bums looking to take your money -- whether the debt is legitimate or not. I suggest not talking them and never, ever give them your bank account and credit card numbers. And remember this: you have no legal obligation to communicate with any debt collector, no matter how often they call you.
If you want to put a halt to their calls, send them a cease-communication letter. Check out these websites for advice on dealing with abusive debt collectors and, if need be, suing them.
http://www.budhibbs.com/First.htm
http://www.naca.net/debt-collection-abuse/
http://www.fairdebtlawyers.com/
http://www.myfairdebt.com/
http://www.consumercounselgroup.com/