collection laws

January 2008 i recieved a collection letter saying i owed a bill from 2003 i was oblivious to the laws so i made a partial payment and havent heard from that company until this month october 2009 stateing they want payment i called up the company the lady asked my name and social i gave my name i told her i didnt want to give my social she said i cant help you then she said are you going to make a payment i said no she said bye and hung up the phone my wife called i was a liitle upset she just told them the info and they gave all my account info without a problem which i felt is wrong after i calmed down called back he told me the acount info i asked could i have proof that the accounti s mine he told me i sent in a payment he doesnt have to i already proved it when i sent in a payment which i read is true but what proof do i have that they have legal rights to collect this money do i have any legal right to ask for that information im meaning somthing to prove they purchased the rights to collect ive all ready reported them to the BBB but due to the way i was treated and spoken to it dosent sound like a normal business i really think its a bogus debt ive already had been a fraud victim im a little wiser but not in law and i just want to protect myself in the future

Go on Experian and Pull your credit report. It's free if you only do it every 6 months. You'll see if you actually have a debt, and who the creditor was, and who the creditor is now.

If it is a legitimate debt, being collected by a legitimate company, then at least it wasn't fraud. However, you only have a few months before this blemish on your report is wiped clean. That would explain why they are really trying to get the debt satisfied right now. If they won't cooperate with you, then I wouldn't pay a dime. These things can only affect your credit for 7 years. In a year it's like it never happened.

i pulled it the credit reports and i disputed it do you think i should wait to see the outcome or just pay it