CA telephone contact after DV Letter, what can I do?
Date: Sat, 05/24/2008 - 08:07
This website has been very helpful to me as I try to deal with a CA, I really appreciate everyone's help and comments. Now, onto my question.
I sent a CA the DV letter and included the statement "I would also like to request, in writing, that your offices make no telephone contact to my home, to my place of employment, to my cell phone, to my previous phone numbers, to my relatives or to anyone in my community. If your offices attempt telephone communication with me or anyone stated above, 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."
I continue to receive phone calls from them and yes I do have the green Return Receipt with Signature. Since they continue to contact me via phone, are they in violation of the law? If so, what do I need to do to sue them? Do I need to request a complete phone history from my telephone company, file a complaint with my local police department or what? Once I have what I need to file the court case, is there an amount I can sue for for each phone call they have placed after receiving the letter?
Again, thank you for your assistance here, it's been great!
Yes. By continuing to call, they are in violation of the fdcpa.
Yes. By continuing to call, they are in violation of the fdcpa. You can sue for that. Statutory damages are likely limited to $1,000 total. But if they're making serious pests of themselves, you can always ask for more as punitive damages. Also, if you're represented by an attorney, you can include attorney's fees in your suit.
As far as documentation... At bare minimum, keep a detailed log of calls you recieve from them. Include date and time of call, length of call, type of call [was it a phone call, voice mail, etc.] the collector's name, CA's name and number, and what was said [in as much detail as possible]. Take special note of profanity, harrassment, abuseive language, etc, as those will strengthen your case.
I would highly recommend recording their calls from here on in. If it's legal in your state to tape without telling them, do so.Otherwise, you'll have to tell them up front that you're recording, and by continuing to talk, they are consenting to that. What state do you live in, and I'll check your state recording laws for you?
hiya-- first, what state do you live in? This will determine
hiya--
first, what state do you live in? This will determine if its legal for you to record the telephone calls.
Second, this is very important--do NOT rip into them on the phone, if you speak with them at all. DO NOT. If you record a telephone call that shows you dictating the law to them, then you will not be able to tell a jury later that you experienced any sort of frustration, suffering, fear, etc etc etc as a result of their violations, even if you did! A jury will believe that since you knew the law enough to say those things on a phone call, that you would know better when they act illegally or lie to you. The best thing to do at that point is to be 'scared and stupid'. Ask them questions to clarify what they are saying when they act illegally on the phone. The fdcpa allows a maximum of $1000 in statutory penalties payable to you if you win your suit no matter how many times they violated the FDCPA, but you can also sue for 'actual damages', which is where fear and stress come in.
OK, at this point it is vital that you can prove that they are trying to collect, and not just calling you to tell you that they will be ceasing contact, etc. That way, you will have them violating two statutes of the FDCPA and not just one.
1--ignoring a partial C&D request
2--continuing collection effort while ignoring a DV request
