I have spent the last 3 or so years trying to clean up the credit mess that I made when I was younger and stupider (sadly, that is only about 10 years ago.)  I have paid off a lot of debt, most of it I paid in the last two years.  The only thing I am still paying on is my student loan.  It feels good.  I've had a lot of grief and sleepless nights and now I think I am all in the clear with the exception of what I owe on my student loan. 

I got this scary looking letter in the mail last week.  It’s from North Shore Agency, a collection agency.  The letter tells me that I am in the final stages of collection for $6.00 for something called “Gold – Level 3.”  My first inclination is to just pay it.  It’s only $6.00, right?  Just pay it and be done with it.  But then I started looking at it and “Gold – Level 3” meant absolutely nothing to me.  I stuck it in my purse and made a mental note to call during the business hours they have listed. 

When I did call all I got was an automated line, all of the prompts strongly encouraged me to pay.  I went around and around in circles, a few of the options resulted in immediate disconnection.  I was never able to get a live person on the phone.  I went to their website to see if they listed a different phone number, and they didn’t.  The website just advises you to call the number listed on your letter, or to go "here" to pay online.  As a last resort, I did a Google search for North Shore Agency phone number.  Lots and lots of articles came up about this company scamming people into paying for subscriptions they didn’t order.  A lot of articles.  Pages of them.  

After reading a handful of the scam articles, I am definitely not paying unless someone can explain what I am paying for.  I did what one of the voice prompts said, and I’m sending them “written communication” advising them that I am not paying unless they can provide me with a better description of why the $6.00 is owed. 

I would hate for $6.00 to knock my credit down after I have spent the last 3 years trying to fix it and make it better – and I think this company is preying on people.  Knowing that they don’t want to adversely effect their credit, especially not in this economy.  So when I initially thought I should just pay it because it’s only $6.00 – what if a hundred thousand other people thought the same thing?  “I’ll just pay it, I don’t want to ruin my credit.”  This scammy ass company just made $600,000 by scaring people.   

I’m not going to be one of those people.