Stopping Harassing Phone Calls From Creditors

[southernmyst]

So a friend of mine is dealing with harassing phone calls from a creditor. She made some sort of arrangement (deferment?), they forgot about it or something, which made her behind, so she made another arrangement whereby they take some money out of her checking account automatically every two weeks. They call several times a day, every day, still

Comments

[anthylorrel]

Calling repeatedly like that can be construed as harrassment. If she asks them to stop calling, they must comply. If they don't, she can press charges against them. Let her know this. The same goes if she sends that letter to them via certified mail, and they continue to contact her like that after its been verified that they've received it.

[southernmyst]

... Certified, yes, I should suggest that to her. Didn't think of it. Thanks for that!

[anthylorrel]

Certified mail is best as you will have proof of delivery. :)

[ta_wanda]

There is a federal law that offers good protection from this, also:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre18.shtm

This gives phone numbers and information people can use to protect themselves. There are penalties involved if a collector violates the rules.

[lumnata]

Just have her tell them that next time they call. Have her ask for a supervisor first, explain that she is aware of the law, and not to continue harrassing her.

[southernmyst]

I always find companies respond much better to things done in writing than things said over the phone. And since they've already screwed her over once about what was said over the phone, I don't trust this company at all.

[mmelonghairs]

I work for an attorney who handles cases like this. You have to send them a cease and desist letter
telling them on the phone never works. Sometimes the letter doesn't work either but at least she'll have documentation.
Google fdcpa violations and you'll find all of the federal laws against debt collector harassment. Also have her keep a call log with numbers of the callers and if she can get em pictures of caller Id. She can then sue them if they keep bothering her, whether she owes a debt or not! Some of these collectors are notorious for breaking the law!

[rose_may2000]

i deal with this daily. I was laid off and have been that way for almost a year. I pay a monthly fee to this one loan thats overdue. They call me about 6 times a day. Different ppl each time. Ive explained to them repeatedly my situation. When I do they are sympathetic but I got tired of explaining the same thing over and over. Also I didnt like the tone of there voice when they asked me why i hadnt paid. Its all there in my file or it should be right?

[southernmyst]

I'm convinced the computer does the dialing, and the reps have no control over who gets called. With the roomie, she, too, would explain every time, and most would be sympathetic once they saw she was/is paying every two weeks. They'd tell her they wouldn't call back, and 15 minutes later they'd be calling back - the only thing I can think of is the reps (& their fellow reps they put on when you ask for a supervisor) don't have control over who gets phoned.

Do what she did in the end, send a letter like I mentioned above. This came up again recently in poor_skills, and you might benefit from some discussion I saw there.

Seriously, quit talking to them on the phone; they're just monkeys with phones. Send them a letter, deal with them in writing always - it's much more difficult for them to say they don't have a record of an agreement with them (if, say, you make payment arrangements down the line) when you can photocopy & mail them a copy every time they say that.

Good luck.