[Harmless Drudge]

I am currently formulating a dispute of an account with a collection agency. They claim that my business has a commercial Master Card that was secured with a personal guarantee. I know for a fact that I never submitted a physical or electronic signature to apply for any such account.

The problem is that the collection agency to whom the account was sold or assigned is pursuing a very aggressive collections procedure based on the premise that a commercial account is governed by the UCC and the FDCPA does not apply. They are harrassing my 80 y/o stepfather at an address I lived at 15 years ago. They are threatening to bother my employers, customers, and suppliers. They are investigating my business and personal assets. They are claiming that because my business is a public entity (LLC), they will be allowed to answer any and all questions that these people (family, friends, employers, business contacts, customers, suppliers, etc.) ask the agency when the agency calls to harrass them.

The funny thing is, they were willing to tell me the date on which the account was supposedly opened, but not the time, place, or which of my businesses the account is opened for. They were very rude and condescending when they described to me that I am required by law to keep records of such things for 7 years. I neither confirmed nor denied anything, and I gave them no information to add to their arsenal. I asked that they e-mail me information about the account. From this point on I have no ambition to transact anything with them except via certified mail. Had they not called me out of the blue, I never would have spoken with them on the phone.

1) Can they in fact divulge this information to all and sundry?
2) Will a drop dead letter serve the same purpose for a commercial account as it does for a personal account?
3) What do I need to do to stop them from trying to destroy my business and get me fired?
4) I would like to do this in such a way that I can seek damages if they screw up. This would, of course, just be a nicd bonus, and is not the main purpose of my intentions.

What do I do?