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I live in Italy, and over the past few weeks I have been finding missed calls by a phone number from the Netherlands; since I have a relative that works there my first thought was that the number belonged to the office he worked. When I finally contacted him he said he didn't know the number, so I made some research and I found out that that number belonged to a debt collection agency called ACCS International, in the Netherlands.

Now I have never been in the Netherlands, except for a few days back in September 2014, to visit said relative of mine, in Bergen op Zoom. During that period, I'm 100% sure I didn't sign any contract with anybody, nor I have ever interacted with any public office to who I could have given my number to, nor any public officer who could have checked my ID or something like that. In other words I can say without a shadow of a doubt that I haven't shared my name or telephone number with anyone in the Netherlands.

  • So my first question is, just out of curiosity, how is it possible that some agency is the Netherlands has my number?
  • Second, and most important, what could they possibly want from me?

To be honest I don't want to contact them because I don't want to give them a person of reference, as I fear it might be a fake (although the agency seems legit, they have a website and all, if it's a fake it's very well done), and even if it's not I don't feel like providing personal information unless I really have to, it's a matter of safety.

What do you think it's the case? What could they possibly want? Do you think it's a fake? May be just a case of wrong number? Should I contact them anyway?

Tanks in advance to whoever can help,
best regards,
F.

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    How did you travel in the Netherlands? If you drove a car, either your own or hired, you may have committed some parking or traffic offence for which they are trying to collect a fine or penalty.
    – Mike Scott
    Jun 28, 2017 at 20:46
  • Nope, no car at all. traveled on foot and by train/buses
    – F.Big
    Jun 28, 2017 at 21:34
  • Consider asking a question on Law Stack Exchange about how you can get the phone calls to stop in the EU. The same question is well covered there for the U.S. case.
    – Patrick87
    Jun 29, 2017 at 1:05
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    Although the company resides in the Netherlands, it could well be an Italian debt - your landlord or bank or whoever might have asked an international company to handle things.
    – Aganju
    Jun 29, 2017 at 11:32
  • " I haven't shared my name or telephone number " - have they actually got your name? Your question doesn't mention them leaving a voicemail that includes your name, so right now all it looks like is that some unknown caller presenting a number which happens to be a debt collection agency has called your phone. Have you never received unsolicited phone calls before??
    – AakashM
    Jun 29, 2017 at 12:55

2 Answers 2

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What could they possibly want?

They are a debt collection agency. They want to collect a debt.

Do you think it's a fake? May be just a case of wrong number?

Maybe, maybe not. We have no way of knowing.

Should I contact them anyway?

Absolutely not. You have nothing to gain by reaching out to them, and potentially a lot to lose. If they have a legitimate claim, make them find you.

Not that you should be actively dodging / hiding from them, but you should not lift one finger to help their cause.

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  • <<They are a debt collection agency. They want to collect a debt.>> Dumb answer to a dumb question, fair enough... it's on me :P
    – F.Big
    Jun 29, 2017 at 10:05
  • <<Maybe, maybe not. We have no way of knowing.>> well, i have provided the name of said company so... I thought it was safe to assume that among hundreds of people here, someone might have heard of them at least once, knew who they were and stuff like that.. just a guess
    – F.Big
    Jun 29, 2017 at 10:10
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    @F.Big although dumb on the surface, it is not dumb after all. They will willingly collect the debt from you even if you don't owe it. If they convince you to pay, then yay for them, and they won't take no for an answer. Continue to ignore them, don't give them an in. You are not dealing with honest people.
    – Pete B.
    Jun 30, 2017 at 12:00
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So my first question is, just out of curiosity, how is it possible that some agency is the netherlands has my number?

It could very well be that they are pursing a debt from a quite different person who happens to share your name and are calling anyone they find with the same/similar name by trawling public (or possibly semi-public) records across the EU.

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