These are busy times for bill collectors.

Whether that's good or bad, depends on if you're a bill collector.

Americans are deeper in debt than they've been in decades.

And nationwide, complaints against bill collectors continue to rise.

Nearly 71,000 complaints were filed with the Federal Trade Commission last year.

In Fort Worth, 88-year-old Georgene Taylor was puzzled when she got a letter from a firm called Anderson, Crenshaw and Associates of Dallas, saying she owned another company called Empire Capital Services $199.99. The name at the bottom of the letter was “Paul Crenshaw.”

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Georgene Taylor, 88, says she got a demand for a debt that she didn't owe.

Mrs. Taylor didn’t know who Anderson, Crenshaw is, and had never heard of Empire Capital Services, and since she keeps meticulous track of her bills, was sure she didn’t owe $199.99. The letter identifies Anderson, Crenshaw as “A Professional Collection Firm.” A call asking for Paul Crenshaw at the phone number listed on the letter led to an unpleasant conversation with a man who wouldn’t identify himself.

Many bill collectors don’t identify themselves by their real names, and many bill collection agencies use assumed names. It’s legal for a collection firm to use an assumed name, but illegal for them to mislead a consumer about their identity. Figuring out who’s who and what’s legal can be difficult for consumers.

It turns out, scores of other people have complained about Anderson, Crenshaw, according to the Texas Attorney General. The AG charges the company with violating the Texas Debt Collection Act by threatening debtors with legal action, threatening to garnish wages, and using profane language.

Anderson, Crenshaw’s attorney Steven Dunn says he’s working with the attorney general to resolve potential legal issues. Dunn says he doesn’t know how many complaints are pending nationwide against the Anderson, Crenshaw, which is an assumed name for five different debt collection firms.

On the federal level, the Federal Trade Commission helps enforce the Fair Debt Collection Act. FTC attorney Tom Curtis says complaints against debt collectors reached 71,000 last year. He says a consumer’s best defense against an incorrect debt demand is to notify the company within 30 days, in writing. The FTC also has a complaint line at 800-FTC-HELP.

E-mail bharris@wfaa.com.