Question by desta: I received a “Late Notice” email from Experian Portfolio Services.?
The email stated that I have an account past due and has been referred by a creditor to their agency for collection. It gave the balance and a web address (paypal) to make the payment. The email gave no information as to who I would owe this amount to. I have no debts due, no outstanding balances owed and have never been contacted before about this. I am very cautious about my finances with a great credit score. The email further gave “NOTICE: Unless you notify this office within 30 days after receiving this notice that you disput the validity of this debt or any portion thereof, this office will assume this debt is valid. If you notify this office in writing within 30 days from receiving this notice that you dispute the validity of this debt or any portion thereof, this office will obtain verification of the debt or obtain a copy of a judgment and mail you a copy of such judgment or verification. If you request of this office in writing within 30 days after receiving this notice this office will provide you with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor.”
Then, after 5 days, I received another email from Experian stating that I had another past due account, only the amount was significantly more. The two emails were from different individuals, but both Experian. The file numbers were only one number different. I have no idea what’s going on! How do I know this is legitimate? There are no contact numbers. If I send them a certified letter, then I am revealing my name as well as my address. This does not seem like a smart thing to do, but I’m afraid to just ignore it. Is email notification even a legal form of communication for them to contact me?

Best answer:

Answer by DON W
You are being scammed. Experian wouldn’t use e-mail to send you such a notice. Also, Experian doesn’t collect debts–they are a credit bureau that keeps track of how people are handling their debts. If you legitimately owed money to a credit card company or other business, you’d be hearing directly from them, and not from Experian.

If you are still in doubt, you can get a phone number for Experian from their website:

http://www.experian.com/credit-education/victim-assistance.html

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