can a debt collector come to your house?

What state are you in? Making a visit like that almost sounds like harassment to me.

Was this a local finance company, that they had the ability to find out exactly where you live and come to your door?? Did you respond to any of the messages they left for you? If not, then my guess is they were taking the only recoure they felt available to them. I don't know about whether it was legal or not, but if you didn't return their calls or messages, I'm sure they felt it was their only option.

I'm not taking anyone's side here - yours or the finance company's - I'm just trying to get more detail on what happened so we can offer you some constructive advice.

As far as the bounced check goes, yes the sheriff can come to your door to serve you court papers for a civil suit on a bounced check, if you don't pay it - at least in some states.

If you can give us more information, we might be able to offer better advice.

Call the finance company and pay the debt. You will stop some legal actions from happening against you. Writing bad checks is not accepted in most state laws.

Most states if not all consider it illegal to bounce checks. If you let a bounce check go too long without being paid you could have a visit from the sherifs office and depending on if you have the money right then and there for the check and warrent issued you might get to go home and if you don't along with what time of day it is you could spend a night in jail.

I have just moved into a new house and have had several debt collectors round after the old tennants. How can I clear the house of these debts so I can obtain credit myself

Thanks.....Keith dale

Previous tenants debts will not affect your credit.

Are they calling, mailing or visiting in person. If they're mailing, just write "return to sender - addressee no longer resides at this address" and send it back.

can a debt collector come to my home to collect the debt, they did today and I don't think it is right.

invite the guy in for some exlax cookies

You should have replied to their attempts to collect the check.. via phone or letter you should have called and made arrangments to pay. Sometimes finance companies will visit the home as a final attempt to collect a debt rather then filing suit against the customer. I see this tactic as the company trying to work something out rather then putting the customer in a worse situation then what they find themselves in. Now if the home visit is unsucessful then at that time the finance company can pursue legal action. From experience its not the that a customer doesn't want to pay but rather they are unable to at the time and are to embarrassed to call the finance company to make arrangments. Usually once this is done the customer does come through and the company saved time and the cost to file suit as well as perserving the customers credit. :D

They come to my house every other month, I gave them a date and time, they all showed up at the same time. I told them each of them is the reason I can't pay the other so they should sit here and work it out.

LOL!!! Now that is something I would pay to see: creditors slugging it out among themselves!! And why do they think that coming to your house is going to get them paid any faster??

Wow, two at the same time! I guess the theory is that if they make a personal visit, you can't exactly dodge their call or hang up on them, so the customer might be more inclined to grab their checkbook and make a payment right then and there. Albeit you can certainly ask them to leave, and if they don't then you can call the cops.

In this day and age, I'm surprised any creditor would still make field calls or door-knocks. In the past, I would equate it about the same as the landlord coming to collect rent (which mine still does). Nowadays you never know who you're dealing with -- knock on the wrong person's door and they might drag you inside and torture you.

A debt collector came to our house and we did not open the door because he was banging on it with a metal object. He hit it so hard for 15 minutes that it caused damage to our door. Also he looked in our windows and ripped up some landscaping decorations and threw them across the yard. What should we do?

Oh, this makes me ANGRY!! Here is what I would do:
If you know who the paid thug was collecting for and you know his name, I would call his company and make a formal report. I would also turn in a police report for good measure, as he vandalized your property.
Take pictures of the damage; hopefully with a digital camera with a date/time stamp on the photo.
If you rent, immediately call your landlord and tell him/her what happened, and tell them who was responsible. If you own, put in a claim on your homeowners insurance, and then send the company a letter with a copy of the documentation, demanding an immediate reimbursement for the damage, or else you will see THEM in court!

im curious - how do you know it was a collector?

Yeah, I would've called the police on the spot, as he was banging on the door. But short of that, yes, I would also file a police report. Since most of these debt collectors are psychopaths, and they actually enjoy harassing people, if you have not taken any action, he will probably be back to do it again.

wow. If I was a debt collector, I would be careful about making home visits, especially in states with liberal gun rights.

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Easy some collectors are that way but most of us what to help you. if you don't pay we don't get paid so if we can listen to your problems bc if there was not a problem you would pay. Then make arrangement to help you with the situation. But if you avoid and hide a duck instead of being up front then you won't know if they can help you.

You should get a pitbull and turn it loose on his sorry ass. And in regards to the original poster-next time let him call the sheriff and while he's doing that tell him you're going to call the local PD and press charges on him for trespassing and property damage. I'm sure he would change his tune. Debts are a civil matter and the law will not get involved until the debt collector decides to sue.Then you will go in front of a judge and have your day in court. Don't know about other states, but in Missouri you have 10 days once you get a notice from the creditor regarding a bad check and then an additional 10 days once you get a notice from the prosecuting attorney's office.

If you write a check for groceries and it bounces, then the store can turn it over to the State and you can be prosecuted. IF you wrote the check to a payday loan type place, they cannot turn the check over to the State because they knew it was bad when they accepted it.

I am having the same problem I took a payday advance and lost my job, and know I owe them only $250 i dont know if the have my address but i think they do,would they come by my place? what should i do since i have no job? should i take out a student loan?

I had a debt collector come to the house, I wasnt home at the time, my wife answered the door..He demanded personal information, My wife asked for ID, business card anything that stated he was with a collection agency...gave her nothing..She told him to go away I am not giving personal information to a stranger...He left her a letter that I could have made on my Laptop, in a used envelope...scratched out previous address and handwrote " personal and confidential"...He parked outside for like a hour..Came back the next day I spoke with him....the guy looks really sketchy...I didnt give him info either...b ut I did pay what I was behind on...can they come to your house , demand personal info and camp out at your house ?

Nope. What you should have done was call the police out to your house. They would have come and issued the guy a trespass warning...if he comes back you call the cops again and that time they will arrest his sorry ass. But watch out! The company sending him will likely keep sending different people to your door to get around the trespass laws.

I had this happen to me..I wrote a whole big thread about it somewhere here.....a company kept sending new people to my house until I threatened to take all the trespass warnings and file a harassment lawsuit since they felt oh so smart in attempting to circumvent the law.

Debt collectors have been known to make house call's however its called tresspassing! which is illegal in most states. you can have them arrested as while as file a civil harrassment and criminal tresspass suit against them.
only! debts collectors that use these tactics of approach are usually not BBB accredited let alone a legal or licensed agency.
now if its rent to own? or some agency like that?they can legally come and reposses there merchandise however you can force then you get a affidavite or reposesssion by the courts and they have to be in the company of a police officer or constable.
and you have the right to refuse entry until they have obtained this!
when a person or persons unknown approaches your home Always call the local police dept and requset a officer or deputy to come to your residence to approach the unknwon caller and verify thier intentions and in most cases they will be warned Not to come back to your residence again! but? if they get unruly i have seen cases where the officer will arrest thie person or persons in question for criminal trespass.;)

:cool: most of you write call police, cut the dog loose, but you miss on one point if you'd pay no one would call....how would you feel if you sold lets say furniture and your client decides for what ever reason..oh well I wont pay.How's that make you feel what would you tell your family they cant eat because your dedbeat client wont.Coming to your home as long as there are no locked gates is not trasspassing.Never reveal the purpose of the visit unless is the debtor.by knocking on a debtor is like tapping on their shoulder and saying here I am... I am not forgetting the debt.Even though they hide and play all sorts of games...The scum of the earth are those that refuse to pay and create sad stories. I lost my job, my mother died' etc..face up to your debts make a payment arrangement and keep it, or next time when you are at a store think hard am I going to be able to pay my bills?if the answer is maybe dont buy!!!! if we are owed we will come to your home or place of work to deliver a final notice letter..you still hide we will see you in court! If you owe and shaow an effort ib this economy almost all companies but ingnoring you obligations SHAME ON YOU!