844-836-7670

I never dialed this number; don't know it at all. I was expecting calls about a classified ad so I answered the unknown number. An automated voice said, "please continue to hold." So I told the automated voice, "[***] you," and hung up.

Possibly a collections call? An automated voice said, "please continue to hold." I'm not going to hold so I hung up.

This is a collection agency (CSB). In my case it was an unpaid medical bill.  It is probably best to speak with them before they put it on the credit report to verify or dispute the charge

Medical debt is a CSB focus, so "in your case" you're nothing special. Once defaulted debt gets charged off, the worst damage is already done to a credit report. Credit ranking is a lesser concern than the fair chance that your rights have been denied and the debt at issue is inaccurate, often the case with dysfunctional medical billing. It cannot be "best to speak with them" when you need debt validation and the FDCPA says your request must be on paper.

FTC and CFPB material on US federal collection law:
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpajump.shtm
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/askcfpb/search ... debt-collection

These people kept calling my relatives phone bothering them to get to me; yes I know I owe them but I cannot pay it right now; I told them I would call them back in a couple of months; and gave them the correct number to call me at; but they kept calling my relatives phone; the number was placed on block but somehow they got around it. These people stop at nothing; they will call everyone that is related to you to get to you. I already had another place call my parents and they are lucky I don't have a lawsuit on them right now because they went and told my personal debt business to my parents without my permission. This is no ones business but mine; I put myself in this situation I will get myself out of it; and no I am not running from it; I plan to pay it back. I am a single mother working full time; no help at all from anyone.An accident happened and I did not have insurance at the time; so yes I know I owe this and I will pay it back.

Disclosing your information to third parties is an FDCPA violation.  Before you pay anyone, I would suggest that you tell any callers that you will NOT pay them unless they comply with federal law by MAILING - do not accept email/phone/fax - proof of your debt and proof your callers have the legal right to collect said debt.  Refusal to mail this documentation within five days is a violation of federal law and you should not pay them.

If you have hospital bills, you may want to contact the billing department - usually they have forms you can fill out for hardship, which may greatly reduce or even zero out, the bill.

More info here:

http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0258-fake-debt-collectors

Consumers across the country report that they're getting telephone calls from people trying to collect on loans the consumers never received or on loans they did receive but for amounts they do not owe. Others are receiving calls from people seeking to recover on loans consumers received but where the creditors never authorized the callers to collect for them. So what's the story?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, is warning consumers to be on the alert for scam artists posing as debt collectors. It may be hard to tell the difference between a legitimate debt collector and a fake one. Sometimes a fake collector may even have some of your personal information, like a bank account number. A caller may be a fake debt collector if he:

is seeking payment on a debt for a loan you do not recognize;
refuses to give you a mailing address or phone number;
asks you for personal financial or sensitive information; or
exerts high pressure to try to scare you into paying, such as threatening to have you arrested or to report you to a law enforcement agency.
If you think that a caller may be a fake debt collector:
Ask the caller for his name, company, street address, and telephone number. Tell the caller that you refuse to discuss any debt until you get a written "validation notice." The notice must include the amount of the debt, the name of the creditor you owe, and your rights under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
If a caller refuses to give you all of this information, do not pay! Paying a fake debt collector will not always make them go away. They may make up another debt to try to get more money from you.

Stop speaking with the caller. If you have the caller's address, send a letter demanding that the caller stop contacting you, and keep a copy for your files. By law, real debt collectors must stop calling you if you ask them to in writing.
Do not give the caller personal financial or other sensitive information. Never give out or confirm personal financial or other sensitive information like your bank account, credit card, or Social Security number unless you know whom you're dealing with. Scam artists, like fake debt collectors, can use your information to commit identity theft – charging your existing credit cards, opening new credit card, checking, or savings accounts, writing fraudulent checks, or taking out loans in your name.
Contact your creditor. If the debt is legitimate – but you think the collector may not be – contact your creditor about the calls. Share the information you have about the suspicious calls and find out who, if anyone, the creditor has authorized to collect the debt.
Report the call. Contact the FTC and your state Attorney General's office with information about suspicious callers. Many states have their own debt collection laws in addition to the federal FDCPA. Your Attorney General's office can help you determine your rights under your state's law.

Good thing there's Obamacare for people like you; paid by MY tax dollars! Quit whinning for sympathy. Use condoms, go back to school, get a better job, pay a dollar a week to spare your relatives harassment for your irresponsibility.

She works.  Did you read her post.  She pays taxes.  I bet her taxes pay for some government goody YOU enjoy.  But of course a government benefit YOU enjoy is just fine, while some benefit someone else enjoys--well that's just terrible and what of a bunch of deadbeats THEY ARE!

Am I right, sick of supporting deadbeats,  or am I right......

Or do you work for this collection company?

Well said CW! Well said indeed! :)

Well, I think the angry shill who doesn't know your story, doesn't care, and would like to beat you down with vulgar insults should tell you what kind of fraud-grinder shop you're facing. He's going to pitch a fit when I write this, but it needs airing: Stop fretting about how to pay what the goons demand. Your rights have been violated and your "nearbys" were deliberately hassled. Remember how that feels right now, preserve all evidence, and don't let all of 2015 slip away before you launch that FDCPA lawsuit the offenders are begging for. The new objective is to make lawbreakers pay *you*.

This kind of misconduct potentially gets debts reduced or canceled. Your risk is low since the loser pays the winning FDCPA plaintiff's legal costs. If the hospital or clinic has to eat the bill for hiring stupid thugs who can't obey simple laws, too damned bad for them. This has to be challenged before other patients are abused the same way.

Speaking of birth control, you are clearly the poster child for the eugenics moving, just saying

a robocall that keeps asking me to "continue to hold" over and over. i have no debts, and the debt collection scammers usually call asking for people i've never heard of, even though no one else has ever had this number. i think they call every number in the country at random looking for suckers and ignore do not call.

Newsflash: unless you live entirely of the grid, home school your kids, produce all of your own food, energy, and water,  and don't leave your own piece of property,  then you,  too,  enjoy a standard of living that is subsidized by somebody else's tax dollars. Nobody makes enough money to enjoy their standard of living without some help from the rest of society. After that, it's just a matter of degree.

What you're saying basically comes down to saying,  "It's acceptable to enjoy  $100 of government sponsored stuff,  as I do. $105 makes you a subhuman creature, to whom I am justified in saying horribly rude things."

And, let's not lose sight of the fact that you found her post by checking out this number,  so you don't seem to be doing much better at paying your vastly superior private insurance  subsidized bills than she is. But,  I'll bet you have an excuse for why that's acceptable,  too.

These people keep calling. It tells you to hold. I don't know anyone in this area code and stopped picking up but they call 1x/week! I'm on the no call list but that does not seem to help.

These are apparently the same ones who sent me a form-type letter saying my local hospital has them trying to collect a $150.00 debit. I don't owe my hospital any money and I'm wondering what service any hospital would offer for $150?

Multiple calls were placed to a mobile phone belonging to a minor

Wow dude...who peed in your Wheaties?  Ever heard of compassion or empathy?  You don't know her circumstances yet you're willing to jump all over her with both feet.  I feel sorry for people like you.  The world must be a cruel, sad place for you.

they left a message that my social security number had been cancelled.