Now what? Phone calls continue after C and D letter!

72 hours should be sufficient time for them to update their files. Did you send it to a collection agency or to the original creditor? Original creditors are not bound by a cease phone calls letter under the federal law. Your state law may be different.

If you sent the letter to a collection agency, document all calls received and contact a lawyer to pursue any claims you may have for violations of the fdcpa.

never request, tell them no further contact. you run the show not them.

;)

*chuckle*

Letter was sent to a CA.

The CA is bound by the letter. Save the messages and seek counsel. The CA is in violation of the fdcpa.

Texaslawyer, are you sure? My understanding of the fdcpa was that a CA was not bound under its provisions to comply with *all* "no phone call" demands, only certain ones, such as place of employment, relatives, and the like; that is, if you tell a CA not to call you at home anymore, the FDCPA does not require them to obey. No?

texaslawyer is correct most people use inconvient to call me clause to limit calls but still be able to use phone in certain situations. A c&d to an abusive collector that cuts off phone contact is legal and actionable under federal law if they violate terms of letter.

Debt Padawan,they are only allowed third party calls for skip tracing purposes.Once they know where you are,there is no reason to call anyone else.

Lastly,if they are orginal creditor seek legal assistance as fdcpa would not apply.

I know about the "skip tracing" stuff, not calling at work, and so on, but it never occurred to me that a consumer could use the "inconvenient to call" clause to specify that it is never convenient to call. Thanks for the tip.

Debt Padawan Texaslawyer may have caselaw to prove this but I am going off a general sense of fdcpa guidelines.I would never recommend a full c&d on a verified debt that is still within statute of limitations.That would be asking for a lawsuit.

I can understand your viewpoint, Cajunbulldog, but even so, it's quite rare for a collection agency to take, or threaten to take, legal action after receiving a C&D. I've done it at least a dozen times over the past 18 months or so, and only one CA has even mentioned it. Furthermore, if a CA does threaten to take legal action, there are still other approaches that you can use, such as asking for debt validation. That's what I did with the one CA that mentioned legal action after I cease-comm'ed them. That was 14 months ago, and I'm still waiting for validation. Or any other communication or action, for that matter. And this was with NCO, who is, as we all know, one of the sleaziest agencies around.

The risk of lawsuit is, admittedly, real, but from my own experience and from everything else I've heard, it's also remote. The only time I've ever seen anyone sued is when they didn't first exercise their rights under the fdcpa, although I'll also freely acknowledge that there are probably a few exceptions that I've just never heard about.

Debt Padawan,You make a good point that most will not sue just have to be careful for the ones that love to sue.They are out there. One of the main things that I have seen is if you owe a large amount or have good seizable assets,then be careful and walk slowly around them.

Cajunbulldog is right is not recommending a full c & d on a verified debt within the SOL. If you do this, the only option they have to try to collect is to file suit. A full c & d lets the CA know they have to give up or take legal action. Therefore, it is best used when the debt is not yours, or it is beyond the SOL.

It is important to note that the option of full c & d does exist under the FDCPA30. Then the CA can only contact you in certain situations, like letting you know they are in fact filing suit, or letting you know they will not be contacting you anymore. Unfortunately I have seen CA's call someone after getting the c&d to tell them "we won't be calling anymore. Can you make a payment today?" which is another violation of the fdcpa.

Well, I don't know... I can only repeat what I've already said, which is that I've cease-comm'ed at least a dozen CAs over the past 18 months or so. All of my debt is still within SOL, but even so, only one responded with a threat of legal action, and when I subsequently told them to validate, I never heard from them again. *shrug* Maybe I'm just lucky, or maybe none of my debts are large enough for anyone to want to bother suing over. I do know that Bud Hibbs recommends always cease-comming a CA and never working with one under any circumstances, and virtually everyone who follows his advice reports that it works well for them.

Texaslawyer,

I wonder if community requests it if we could set up a perm sticky with full factual laws on fdcpa and fcra? I think this would be a great idea for this board.

there are others that would reject the idea cajun....

I think it would be a perfectly fine idea..A lot of people would benefit from it, and it would keep everything available. I say go for it.

I am all for it myself. If Mike or Vikas can weigh in or just a few more higher ups I can download pdfs and figure out how we need to place it.It would have to go in multiple sections of board to make sure it is seen by everyone.

Cajun, why don't you pm Mike and sell your idea to him? He's always willing to listen.

why would anyone reject the idea of doing a sticky on the fdcpa law particulars? I think it's a good idea - it would be very helpful to many, as that law can be pretty confusing.

finfan13,
I'll do that.

All right,pm is sent to Mike.Will let yall know when I get my answer. :D

I'm not completely sure what is meant by "a perm sticky with full factual laws on fdcpa and fcra" but my main text used in this area is a book titled "Fair Debt Collection" published by the National Consumer Law Center. It is 995 pages of information. The supplement for 2006 is another 377 pages. Basically it covers the FDCPA. Additionally, you have to know the specifics of your state laws and cases to have the most complete knowledge of the laws and court interpretations.

The more you know, the more you will realize the FDCPA is not interpreted the same way in every judicial district. In other words, the law is different depending on how the judges read and apply the laws. For example, there are lots of cases in Illinois that "could" apply in Texas, but there is not a clear answer on most of them yet. The best you can do is find out which cases apply to your judicial district so you know how the law is interpreted where you live.

Certainly, it's a good idea. People coming to this board will save a lot of time and get the information as mentioned in the law. They won't have to browse through different websites when the search gets narrowed here.

Cajun, We all will appreciate your hard work in compiling this useful post. Let me know when done. I will make it a sticky so that it will always stay at the top of the forum index. Incoming posts will not bury it under different topics.

texaslawyer, anything you want to post useful for this community will be highly appreciated by us. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to make your selective posts focused. I will appreciate.

Regards
Mike