Calling Every Hour

[krispy12]

I keep reading different information on how many times creditors & credit card companies can call you each day. So my question is, how many times are the credit card companies allowed to call you? On the weekends? What about third party collectors?

I recently decided to pick up the phone & answer the credit card companies & explained I had no job, no money to send but I would try. Well, they stopped calling except 1-2 calls once in awhile.

Sunday, GM was calling me like 20x so I finally picked up the phone & said I already talked to someone & if this was legal that they call me this many times on a Sunday? The guy said yes. I eventually said I didn't have money & was running out of cell phone minutes & had to go & he let me go after that.

[Lajazz947]

That's a good question. Does anybody know if the rules are different on the weekends?

[ThreadsSnapping]

No they are not.

TS

[WhatMoney]

That's a good question. Does anybody know if the rules are different on the weekends?

Yes, they will call you more on weekends because you have a better chance of being home. Original creditors that do not fall under FDCPA rules in most states can call you 100 times a day if they want. I've had Chase/India call me 45 times in one day. Collectors that fall under FDCPA rules should keep the calls down to around 8/day but there is no rule. Constant calling would be harrassment.

The only day I've never had a collector call in the last 3 years of phone records is December 25. And that's only because most collectors get Christmas day off.

[Flamingo]

Remember, a collector's job is to get the money you owe for the creditor. They will try to get you when most people are at home (dinner hour, evenings or weekends). I don't believe they can call you before a specific hour in the morning or after a specific hour at night. If you owe money and are late, they are going to call and send you correspondence via regular mail. As I do in almost every situation when there are two sides, put yourself in the creditor's place - they just want their money back just like you would if you lent money to someone who hasn't yet paid it back and is overdue/late.

Either answer the calls and advise them you are going to be filing BK soon or don't answer them. They will continue on and off and trickle down to zero after they get your filing papers.

[ssdsco]

Can't think of it at the moment but there's another law that says they can't call you on a cell phone. I'm sure there's a process to notify them in writing.

Search on cell phone and I think you'll find it.

[AngelinaCatHub]

OK, true story, I had a threat call once from a relative I had to sue (my dead Mothers ex-husband previously divorced) I called him back and got a fax machine. Weeeellllllll let's see, I have a data fax modem on my computer, I plugged in, went online, and found the text of the Bible and proceeded to fax it, Ms. Cat and I went out to dinner leaving the computer happily faxing text. Yes can you imagine when they got home and found a full roll of text on the floor and a burned out fax machine. It happened. 'Hub

P.S. Those 800 numbers are not free. They at the other end pay for those calls, I am not suggesting anything, but a fax software package will call every five minutes if the fax tone has not been recognized. If you are being harrassed, what is good for the goose ............you know.

[BigJohn]

You should have told 5 of your friends what you planned on doing and had them ship in. Imagine 6 times more paper being used!

[sick of debt]

Krispy, GM is horrible with calls, especially on the weekend. Just a little FYI!!!!!!!

[krispy12]

Collectors that fall under FDCPA rules should keep the calls down to around 8/day but there is no rule. Constant calling would be harressment

Ok, so how would I find out if they fall under FDCPA rules?

[lrprn]

Ok, so how would I find out if they fall under FDCPA rules?

Original creditors do NOT have to obey the FDCPA rules. Collection agencies do. You have to find out who's calling to know if the creditor is an original one or a collector.

[treehugger1]

Indeed, original creditors do not fall under the FDCPA law. However, your state laws may include language that also protects you from original creditors.

You can write each unsecured creditor and tell them that you can only receive calls during certain times and any other times will be considered harrassment by you. This probably doesn't get you very far, but there are harrassment laws that vary by state. You will need to do your own due dilgence here.

In general, if you stop paying your bills/debts to original creditors, then you should expect calls to continue day after day and perhaps night after night. If it is a problem, then turn off your ringer or go to a cell phone and only share your number with trusted freinds and relatives. If you have an atorney, give them the attorney's number. Other than that, there is not much more you can do other than turn off the ringer.

Oh, there are laws that protect you from harrassment, CA's etc, but how much time can you afford to invest in legal pursuits that may not be fruitful? If your conscience bothers you, simply answer the phone and tell the caller you cannot pay the bill. Then, hang up.

Bottom line...Unless you are filing for BK and/or have the knowledge to pursue violations in state/federal court the calls will continue.

Decent companies will respect your phone request to not call you and communicate by mail only. However, there is no federal law that requires this unless you are using the FDCPA which only applies to 3rd party collection companies.

[Charles245]

You should go to www.naca.net or www.consumercounselgroup.com, both have free legal advice from lawyers. That many calls is definitely harassment under the FDCPA if it is from a collection agency.

[wtu]

If you want the calls to stop you can request that they only contact in writing. You can put a request in writing that collection agencies contact you only by mail, it worked for me. My original creditors I just sent requests instructing them not to contact me at work at all.

[magyar123]

Several years ago, a collection agency in the eastern time zone called me. Here in California it was just a little 5 in the morning. When I confronted her about the time she called she swore up/down/sideways that it was after 8.
I respond: Did you flunk Geography or are you a high school dropout?
Her response: Huh?
My question: Where do I live?
Answer: California
Me: How many hours difference is it between where you are and California?
Her: I don't know.
Me: Then you must have flunked Geography.
And hung up on her