That was seems like the most bizarre thing about this whole business to me. The collection agencies that the debt has been sold to have no real legal basis or p

That was seems like the most bizarre thing about this whole business to me. The collection agencies that the debt has been sold to have no real legal basis or practical resources for doing anything other than calling the debtor and asking them to pay. They have no idea what the debt was for, how legitimate it is, what the debtor's situation is, or even if some clerk at the original company fat-fingered a data entry form somewhere and the information is completely wrong. Which conversely means that, as a debtor, you can basically convince them you have no money and ignore them, and there's nothing they can do. Any kind of investigation or strong-arming would blow their budget for turning a profit on their debts. It's not like any of the money is actually going to the company you supposedly owe to anyways