<prompt> Human: Its regarding a Centurylink internet debt for 200. Ive gotten three letters from Afni so far, and each time Ive called Centurylink to see what its all about. Centurylink says they have no record indicating I owe them anything. Ive been a customer for 5 years and have never missed a billing cycle, so I knew something was wrong. Centurylink said that it is probably a scam. So I decided to call Afni today. This whole situation has been bugging me, because I dont really want anything negative to hit my credit. When I called, the rep that answered was very straight forward and insisted that I pay this debt as soon as possible, then went to pull up my account. I gave him my account number that was provided with my letter. He then asked for my social, which I declined. He said that was no problem, and asked for the city and state. Once he confirmed my identity he asked me of o was going to make a payment today, at which I replied that I was calling to dispute the letter. I informed him that Centurylink has no records of ever sending a debt to any collections agencys, and that Afni must be mistaken. The rep went on to blame Centurylink and asked me if I know which system they had looked my my information on, and I replied that it would be something Centurylink would know about, since I do not have knowledge of how their systems work. He then got super defensive and raised his voice. He said that I can just let my credit get messed up, or I can pay my debt, but he wasnt going to try to reason with me unless I trusted him. I told him that I was merely calling to inform them that they had their information wrong and to contact Centurylink for confirmation. He scoffed and said to call back in a week and hung up on me. I am writing this to get reddits opinions. Should I even call him back? I have worked in a few call centers myself, so I always try to be as courteous and clear as I can be. So when he got defensive when I wasnt even being aggressive at all put up a huge red flag for me, and made me think this company really is one big scam. Has anyone else had to deal with them? What should I do if anything?  <response>: Whatever you do, dont talk to them on the phone ever again for any reason. Even with legitimate collections, the people on the phones are scumbags.Send a letter by certified mail, if you want a paper trail demanding that they validate the debt. Also inform them that you will only communicate with them in writing.If they ever call you again, tell them that you will only communicate in writing and hang up on them. This is a good practice regardless, but my understanding is they are legally required to honor that demand.In my experience, you will almost certainly receive a letter from them in a couple of weeks telling you that they are no longer pursuing collection action against you, and that they are not reporting your debt to any credit agencies, while studiously avoiding any language that could be remotely construed as them admitting fault.If you want to have fun with it, you can do what I do and write your demand letter in crayon on the back of their letter to you. 