Threats from creditors to call neighbors..

Dear Byron,
collection agencies have no authority to call your friends or neighbors and harrase them. What you need to do is send them a letter that has these points in it "I would also like to request, in writing, that no telephone contact be made by your offices to my home or to my place of employment. If your offices attempt telephone communication with me, including but not limited to computer generated calls and calls or correspondence sent to or with any third parties, it will be considered harassment and I will have no choice but to file suit. All future communications with me MUST be done in writing and sent to the address noted in this letter by USPS"

Also send it certified mail return receipt so you have a record of it. If they call you after they receive you can sue and win easily!

Good luck

Hi Matthews

Welcome to the forums. Under the fdcpa laws, the creditors can call third parties like your neighbors only when they are unable to locate you. Since they are in touch with you over the phone, they have no reasons to call your neighbor. And most important point, they don't have the legal rights to discuss your accounts with your neighbors. This will be serious violation of the FDCPA if they involve in such activities. You should consult your attorney for this purpose so that they can be brought in the best of their behavior.

BTW, what is the name of this company that sounds just out of the world?!!

Buy a recorder, and tape the next call you get from these people. Make sure taping calls without their knowledge is legal first.

Hi Byron,

I'm sorry to hear that this is happening to you. I would do as suggest, send a cease and desist letter. You have the right to work everything out through the mail. Please do share with us the name of the company, I'm sure somebody here has had similar dealings before. Thank you for joining us!

~Mary

Couldn't byron report the creditor for the threat they made? I understood that even threating such actions is against fdcpa laws. It this correct?

This specific creditor is Bank of America. We have a couple of credit cards thru them and they want their money.

We hadn't read thru this forum, and my wife had began answering their questions. They told us that our cable bill was too high, that my wife needed to get out of the house and get a job, take public transportation, and basically tried to tell us what to do.

While she was answering this call, I was reading this website. We are learning alot from here.

I will be collecting the mailing info for this and other creditors so I can send the Cease and Desist letter requesting all corrospondance be thru the mail.

I plan on posting more on this as it progresses..

Byron

fdcpa laws are made for third party collection agency. It does not cover creditors or in-house collectors. However, several states have some laws for in-house collectors as well and consumer protection office can give you some support.

Are you sure you got the call from BOA or some collection agency called you? Anyway, you can send the letter and mention how much you can afford per month. Also explain the cause that turned your bills down.

I actually had a collection agency call my parents once. (GC Services in Ohio) A friend of mine in Ohio worked 10 minutes away from them and went down there and pretended to be me, and freaked them out. They never called anyone but me after that!

Stan,

I'm confirming with my wife on who it was that she talked to. It appears that this may have been a collector for Bank of America.

I am collecting addresses, account numbers, and names to begin sending the Cease and Desist letters to.

Is there anything I should be prepared for after sending these letters? I will be contacting T&C to see what I need to do, but I'm looking for real world suggestions also.

Thanks everybody for all the assistance.. this is going to be a long road, but with the support of this website, I think we will make it!

Byron

Byron,

Send the C&D letter through certified mail with return receipt requested. Mention clearly that you are not denying to pay the debt. The purpose of the letter is that they should stop calling you once they receive this. You can collect a format letter from the list of debt consolidation Sample Letters for your assistance-

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/books/

Have you asked for debt validation? collection agencies are supposed to send you written documents of your debt. If you haven't requested it yet, ask for it. All you have to do is that write another letter and attach with the C&D. Keep us posted.

Byron,

By law, collectors can call third parties ANYTIME they think your information has changed. They can call your granny, neighbor, employer, priest...whoever, as long as they are very non-specific. They can only ask questions pertaining to a contact number or address verification for you. They cannot state the name of their company unless the third party specifically requests it. They can only do this ONE TIME...but like I said...if they believe your information has changed, or they were given false info, they WILL call again. Yes, C&D the creditor. Keep in mind that anytime you C&D a creditor, you do have a higher risk of being sued.

If this was a collection agency, then fdcpa laws have clearly been violated in this situation. Go to the Federal Trade Commission Website to find out more on these laws and to file a complaint against this collector. Also, do not be frightened to send the cease and desist letter to them. You can do a search in the forums to find a great example of a debt validation request that includes a cease and desist order in it. As stated, they can only contact neighbors or relatives to get contact info on you. They cannot discuss the situation with them. I am dealing with a scavenger collection agency myself right now. I can feel your pain but you do have rights. Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself. Keep us updated on your progress. :)

Yes, I should point out that you shouldn't be afraid to C&D a company. The only reason that I mentioned the part about a higher risk of being sued is because once they cannot contact you, they are going to do one of three things. 1. sue you, 2. sell your account, 3. forget about you.
Make sure your C&D is accompanied by the debt validation request. If you have to, every thirty days, send them another request telling them that you want detailed documentation. That will buy you time. Find out when the last payment on the debt was made, and I can tell you if the account is in or out of statute. If it is out of stat, all they can do is leave the negative trade on your credit report, and continue to try to harrass you in order to collect.

Beatle,

What about cease comm? I always prefer to send a cease comm or stop calling letter mentioning ???all communications should be via mail'. This way the person is not going beyond reach and can avoid the harassing calls. Do you think the risk of being sued still there?

You are right about contacting neighbors. Collectors can contact neighbors, relatives if they cannot trace you. And they are not supposed to disclose your debt obligations to others.

It depends on the company. I would say it is better to let them know that you are willing to communicate via written letter only. Sometimes it makes a difference, sometimes it doesn't. Remember that only first party owners and debt buyers can sue, if within stats. They do run a series of databases to see if you are suitworthy.

I finally personally talked to the company that is calling. They are Collect Corp out of Phoenix Arizona.

I received their address today and am filing a C&D with USPS contact only added on it. I am including my current and valid mailing address to ensure that they can't say they didnt' have it..

These places make me so angry, this lady was denying everything she told my wife. She told me it was her job to guide us forward to good credit. And by giving her the information that they requested, they could assist us in getting back to the black.

I continued to ask for the address, each time she interupted me to say she was giving me the address... then would make small comments about my maturity, or that I didn't know what I was talking about regarding the laws.

They are horribly mean people. I don't know how they go home to family and friends. I would love to send most of them a small caliber pistol and a single bullet, along with a tape recorded message of what they sound like.

Sorry, just venting...

LOL They do get irritating don't they.

Don't let them get you down.

So far, this site is helping me keep my shoulders squared and head up.

We were floundering and didn't know where to start, who to trust, what to do.. Now, at least I have found some steps that will head us in the right direction.

We have all intentions of paying these debts... I just need to get a grip on them, and make the arrangements..

Now, if someone would contact me from here regarding the programs, that would be step number 2.

byron - It is a great feeling to have some direction for your debt. Most of us were confused, lost, and scared when we came here as well. Nobody deserves to be harassed for having a debt. So congrats on making the first steps!!

~Mary

I am continuing to get very nasty and threatening phone calls from creditors even after I have sent a letter asking them to not to call me at my place of employment. What other recourse do I have and what can I do to prevent this from continuing to happen?

Hi Sheila

Know the purpose of the creditor for calling you. If they are trying to reach you with a wrong reason, the calls must stop. But, if they are calling you for some past debt account, you might like to negotiate with a payment plan. They might stop calling you further after the matter is resolved.

A cease and desist letter will only result in the debt being transfered to another collection agency so I suggest you keep multiple copies and a box of stamped envelopes ready.

I suggest you contact Bank Of America and see if they can retract the account from the agencies and work somehting out through them if possible. Sometimes they will refer you right back to the collection agency.

Try and get somehting worked out quickly because as it is a credit card I am sure it's still collecting late fee's and intrest until it charges off. And even sometimes then can collect a small intrest even after that.

If you are in a lot of credit card debt I suggest contacting a credit counseling service and see what they can do about helping you out of debt. It might take 6 or 7 years but the calls will stop as long as you have an accepted proposal from each card. The accepted proposal part is extremely important.

A legit collection agency will have absolutely no problem sending the proper validation. When a debt is past from collection agency to collection agency that means they don't legally have the debt.

I am constantly amazed that people allow themselves to be bullied by such collection agencies.

Always remember these basic principles:

1. YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL A CREDIT COLLECTION AGENCY ANYTHING!! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Whatever info you give them is up to you. You don't have to discuss whether your wife works, how many kids you have, or anything. On the other hand, I have found many creditors willing to work with you if you let them know basic facts about your problem, (job loss, illness, disaster, etc.) they can and often do work with you to help. WFSFinancial, for example, gave us a "break" without payments for a few months.

2. After reminding you that you don't have to tell collectors anything, be aware that you do not have to accept disrespect or abuse, either. And, if such abuse/disrespect occurs, HANG UP IMMEDIATELY, or demand to speak to their supervisor. You should not carry on a conversation in which such disrespect occurs. I have had several collectors try to keep me on the line by the "while I have you on the line, let me update your information". I tell them simply, "My information has not changed. Good-bye". Click.

I'm all for living up to your obligations but disrespect, abuse and bullying should NOT be tolerated. Byron, that woman telling you that it was "her job to guide you forward to good credit" is insane. HER JOB IS TO COLLECT A DEBT. Period!