is it okay to be rude to creditors?

[sofarindebt]

or will it come back to bite me when we file? Today a guy from chase told me my debt with them is not dischargeable because I incurred the debt 8 mos ago. I just said yeah whatever and then told him I couldnt' pay obviously because I had lost my job. He said "well I hear your microwave in the background so you obviously have money to pay your utilities and you are on the phone with me so you pay your phone bill!" Oh yeah you are right I should pay you rather than feed my kids or keep them warm. I was kind of snobby with him then hung up, but now I am wondering if that will make them sue faster or say I was rude to them in my bankruptcy?

Geez, I should know better than to stay on the phone with them.

[wrinkleigh]

As long as you didnt give them any useful information -- you are probably ok.

Just dont answer them. We went through 4 months of phone calls every 5 minutes all day long, and never answered a single one.

Discover was the worst for us -- they would dial my home #, let it ring 5 times, call my cell let it ring 5 times, then call DH's cell, and on and on -- this cycle repeated every hour or so.

Hang in there -- once you file it'll all stop.

[BKOnce]

I used my computer hooked directly to phone line, intercepted, and program-disconnected all CCs on first ring!

[CATCHMEIFYOUCAN]

Creditors can get Rude

Hey, creditors/bill collectors/collection agents have no problem being rude so why cant we, as long as we dont promise them anything. Chase also told me that I wasn't eligible to declare BK either as my acct was just open (yeah, sure, a little over 6mos before I filed ago). I even got a couple reps telling me that because I'm a good paying customer I couldn't have the finance charge forgiven because I wasnt even delinquent! They are screwey. So be screwey back.

Now I'm discharged so back in their faces, CMIYC

[lrprn]

Why lower yourself to their level by engaging in a shouting match that could cause you to give away information you shouldn't in the heat of the moment? It's not worth it.

When I was tempted to say something nasty to our collectors, I just put the phone down quietly on the counter and let them talk to the air. Eventually they would take a breath and I could hear. a faint..."hello?"....."hello?"....followed by some choice expletives, and then they would hang up. Much more satisfying than exchanging insults with someone who could care less what I thought. I got my revenge by costing the collector the one thing they value - time to make calls. They can't move on to the next call if they are talking to air

[tay666]

I usually just say F U then hang up.
Don't even give them a chance to talk to me.
Anyone who calls my house and expects me to wait for them to come to the phone gets that kind of response.

Or, if I am not in the mood to even do that much, I just hang up without saying anything.

[jal1129]

Towards the end before I filed I just unplugged my house phone so I never even knew if it was ringing (trust me when I did plug it in it was ringing almost non stop!). On the few occasions I actually talked with them it got ugly pretty quick!! I never cussed at them, but other than that it did get rude- screaming and yelling and always ended with me hanging up on them.

[helpless]

Is there anyway to block numbers from your phone? I would just think that in this day and age there would be a way. I don't have collectors calling for me, but my MIL and I am getting tired of it.

[GoingDown]

Is there anyway to block numbers from your phone? I would just think that in this day and age there would be a way. I don't have collectors calling for me, but my MIL and I am getting tired of it.

You raise a very good point. Many people have Caller I.D. and with that service you can block "private callers" from calling you, and yet, it does NOT block "unavailable" and "out of area" callers from calling you. Most collection agencies will come through as "unavailable" or "out of area" on my Caller I.D. Unfortunately, I am not aware of any way to block them from calling. If anyone knows of a way to block them from calling, please let us know.

As for the original topic, it is perfectly legal to cuss and scream at a debt collector who calls you on the phone, but I don't advise it. The more you talk to them, the more likely they are to get you to say something that they can use against you later, or to get you to say something that gives them information about you, your assets, or your job. The best thing is to screen your calls with caller I.D. and an answering machine and just never pick up the phone when debt collectors call you on the telephone.

[emoney]

If you want to stay above the fray when they call, just ask do you mind if I record this call. Please check state law first, but in Texas it is OK to record your own calls without notice.
Regards,
emoney

[SinkingFast]

Filing BK is like the race between the tortoise and the hare. You've gotta be a tortoise.

Pick and choose your battles as there will be many trials along the way.

Don't bother with the Collectors. They're doing a seedy job to earn a buck. Save your energy for when you really do need to fight.

[BassBoy]

I agree with SF....save your energy. Besides, why get yourself all riled up? More than likely, you're already on edge with facing BK, so why add fuel to the fire by getting into it with a debt collector?

[BKTango]

I spent over a year fighting or should I say being abused by collectors before we filed and let me just say it is far better looking back on it to either not even answer or talk to them, or just calmly tell them "let me see what I can do and I will get back with you" and then hang up. I had recorded most of them, been called every name in the book by these people and then some. Been threatened, been lied to, you name they did it. Heck one even told me and I believe it was BofA that I did not qualify for bk since the new laws passed. Sometimes yeah they pissed me and sometimes they made me want to cry. Choose your battles, it won't come back to haunt you when you file but you will ask yourself "why in the hell did I let them get to me?"

Remember to those that are calling you, you are nothing more than the next name on the list, so don't take it personal they just got done being an @#$#$ to Mr. Smith and will call Mrs. Johns and be @$^&# to her when you hang up.

Also people need to step up and try to make a change to how these people do their business, when someone calls you and clearly violates the FDCPA, report them it only takes a minute to click it. http://www.ftc.gov/ click on File a Complaint on the top heading. If enough people learn to report this stuff, there will eventually have to be reform on how they practice business.

[MARKETSACRIFICE]

So just to be clear

what i am hearing confirms what i belived to be true, they are contacting me, as such, it is well within any legal boundaries to cuss, put down, do everything short of perpetrating an illegal act to them. Honestly? as base and low rent as this may sound, its somewhat of a release to go off on these people. sure it gets boring, but hell they are harassing me, the least i can do is oblige and see if i cant harass them.

I consider it a small victory to watch them get upset.

My call yesterday went downhill when the collector got attitude with me when i called her by her first name after she gave me her full name at the beginning of the call. I quickly told her how much i could care less what she wanted to be called or what she had to say and reminded her if she had a problem with it not to call me.

A few f bombs later and references to female dogs she finally had enough.

Granted its mental masturbation, but you gotta have a release every now and then, better on the collectors than the ones you love during these trying times

[BROKENN]

Answering Machine.