Harrasing Debt Collection Calls

[Deadly Sushi]

Harassing calls from debt collectors have become a way of life for many as the U.S. economy has faltered and unemployment soared. Debt collection is big business: About $40 billion each year is recovered from consumers by collectors, according to the International Association of Credit and Collection Professionals. With so much money at stake, aggressive tactics – and outright harassment - are common. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission received 78,000 complaints about debt collectors.
In one FTC complaint I’ve read, a consumer describes this harrowing episode. He was threatened by a collector over a $600 medical bill that he couldn’t pay. Out of spite, the collector managed to break the debt up into nine $70 unpaid bill, just so the consumer would get nine separate dings on his credit report.
But you don’t have to put up with dirty tricks. Put one phrase in one letter, and you can stop the harassing calls and interruptions. The beginning of the end of a debt nightmare is to get debt collectors off your back. Here’s how.

When collection agencies call, they can be rude, threatening, and manipulative. But you have the law on your side. The Fair Debt Collection Act has very clear rules about what debt collectors can and can’t do. Naturally, collectors often don’t follow the rules, so it’s important that you know your rights. Don’t let the collectors bully you: Even though you owe someone money, and even if you may feel inferior at the moment, you deserve to be treated with respect and integrity. And you are guaranteed protection under the law.
For example, debt collectors may not contact you “at inconvenient times and places, such as before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.,” according to the Federal Trade Commission. If a collector harasses you by calling you late at night, you can sue for damages. Most will stop when they hear you merely mention the Fair Debt Collection Act.
Other things debt collectors can’t do, according to the Federal Trade Commission’s interpretation of The Fair Debt Collection Act:
• Use threats of violence or harm
• Publish a list of consumers who refuse to pay their debts (except to a credit bureau)
• Use obscene or profane language, or repeatedly use the telephone to annoy
• Use any false or misleading statements, such as imply that they are attorneys or government representatives, imply that you have committed a crime; hint that they work for a credit bureau, say you will be arrested if you don’t pay the debt, or use a false name.

A full list of forbidden tactics is available at the FTC’s Web site.
If a debt collector does any of these things, you can in sue in state or federal court and win $1,000 plus recover the cost of any damages you suffered, along with attorney’s fees.
In fact, debt collectors must cease contact with you altogether if you send them a letter telling them to stop.
To get a debt collector off your back, write a letter specifically invoking the Fair Debt Collection Act’s requirement that it stop contacting you. After that, the collector can only call you or write to you if it is communicating an intent to file a lawsuit or other specific legal action.
Remember, sending such a letter may stop the phone calls, but it does not erase the debt or in any way mean the end of the problem. It just gets the debt collectors off your back so you can start putting your life back together.
You can download a sample “get off my back” letter here.
More details on what can and can’t be done by debt collectors are available at ExpertLaw.com

If you believe the debt that you’re being harassed about is inaccurate, you should immediately dispute the debt with the collector via certified mail, and you should obtain a credit report for free at AnnualCreditReport.com. If the debt appears there, you should initiate a formal dispute process with the credit bureau that’s reporting it. Sample dispute letters are also available here.

 

[REDDOGTWO]

I just turned over a couple of rental accounts that were way past due before we came down here in January. A couple of weeks later I get a call from the collection agency. They said one of the people came in and was madder than a wet hen. It seems like he had recently filed bankruptcy and forgot to list my debt on his bankruptcy.

Serves the guy right, he has told me lie after lie for the last three years of when he was going to get the money to pay me, but for some reason they never came through. Whenever I called him, if he answered the phone, he always said we had to get together and discuss it, but never on about starting to make payments.

I am not prejudiced, he was half Indian and seemed like he was always trying to get this or that free, an example being he needed hip surgery but did not have health insurance so he tried every government agency in an effort to get free surgery.

Some people run into rough spots, however there are some that just live high on the hog and expect a free ride.

 

[Caitlin]

I don't know the situation in the U.S. but a lot of VERY well known companies in the U.K. use dirty tactics.

I.e. A utility company here were ripped off by a previous tenant of were I live. They spent 36 months chasing me for the debt, saying the debt was run up at my address. Never mind I wasn't the tenant! After 36 months of debt collector visits, bailiff visits etc...I broke down to my social worker who suggested contacting the Trading Standards Authority. Within 24 hours the problem was sorted.

It's not the first time I've encountered these problems in the U.K. But from the debt collectors point of view...this is passed on as a genuine debt which is GENUINELY owed to a trading company and should be paid.

In my opinion, if a person genuinely DOES owe money...it SHOULD be paid. If you are keen enough to take the goods/services, you SHOULD be decent enough to pay for services rendered! If it is an unjustified debt (i.e. NOT yours) then don't be like me and take it, speak up. But besides that, if the debt is GENUINE, don't moan about falling behind and having debt collectors on your back...you KNEW the risk you were taking when you GLADLY accepted the debt to have something you could not otherwise afford.