I am not going to deny that the company does not come off as shady. I have researched the executive staff, licensing, building lease, website hosting contract etc... and all of it seems to be silly. A company that goes through a lot of steps to use fake names when it takes only hours to find their real names online. Why bother? If they know our names and call us all day, why shouldn't we have theirs?
Regardless, they do have the right to collect. However paperchase is right to some regard. Collection agents often like to pick the low hanging fruit. Turn around is high because their job sucks so they go after the people they think they can get money from. Asking to see what they owe from a company that is difficult to get information from might just be enough to get them to stop calling. Disputing the charge has also worked for me as the agency didn't care to get involved in a legal dispute over a small amount.
However if they feel it is worth their time, they can take you to court. If this happens you will get a court conference. Try to get an offer on the table and reschedule another one. An emergency the day of one of these (hospital visits provide great uses for these in Canada) also get a postponement. Then file to have the case held in the most inconvienent place for their lawyer to get to (the lawyers letter head helps with this). Then getting another postponement during court is easy on a one time basis if you are missing key facts (duty council is free at the courts and he will tell you what the court NEEDS to proceed or they will set another date). Doing this will force the court date back a couple years and cost the creditor or collection company TONS of money. Sometimes 10 to 20k depending on travel and the lawyer they need. Then in the end the judge will probably reduce the amount and you pay it.
I will keep recommending this to everyone until they stop calling after 7 am and let a guy wake up at 8 like a normal person.
Also there is free credit counseling sponsored by government agencies, you can find them on the web. They will tell you your rights. If you want to know real peoples names, Call eHealth in downtown Toronto. They work in the same building. A chatty lady was nice enough to give me a bunch of them as she doesn't like creditors.
Now we can call each other from home at 7 am. I recommend it to everyone. Then we can solve my query before John even gets to the office. I call that efficient. Look forward to our morning chats guys!!!