Calling Every Hour

[BigJohn]

It would be interesting if somebody answered the phone while recording and said
"This had better be important to call me 3:30 in the morning!"

If you go before the judge and listen to the recording, it would seem to indicate they were calling 3:30 in the morning.

[Frogge]

Lolol

[GoingDown]

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.

If it is the original creditor, they can pretty much call you as much as they want. It's been my experience that the original creditor is far more aggressive than a third party collection agency or junk debt buyer. Junk debt buyers pretty much sit back and wait to see some new activity on your credit report-- like buying a new car, or a new mortgage, or a new job-- and then they come after you. But the original creditor tends to have the nastiest callers, and they will often call many times a day, until they get you on the phone. In my experience, once I told them that I refused to pay their bill and that I was judgment proof-- no wages to garnish, no real estate to put a lien on, and that I didn't use checking accounts or savings accounts-- they stopped calling me so much. They don't want to waste their time on someone who is not going to pay them their commission. Another thing that works on most original creditors is simply sending them a cease and desist letter in the mail. Original creditors don't have to follow the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, but most of them VOLUNTARILY follow it anyways.

Some people say that by not talking to them on the phone, it actually makes them more likely to file a lawsuit, but that's only true when they know you have a job and assets.

If you want to have a cell phone you can use without having to worry about getting phone calls from YOUR creditors, I suggest getting a pay as you go cell phone and pay for it with cash, so they won't be able to figure out your new number. But sometimes, you will get creditor calls for the previous person who had your new cell phone number.

Or just simply assign them a silent tone on your current cell phone.

[hnhlvr]

Another thing that works on most original creditors is simply sending them a cease and desist letter in the mail. Original creditors don't have to follow the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, but most of them VOLUNTARILY follow it anyways.

How long into default should a person generally wait to file a "cease and desist" letter to an original creditor? I'm only late on three out of five cards, but by Sept., they all will be late. Should I wait a few months before sending out a letter?

[liz417]

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

LOL!!!

[krispy12]

It would be interesting if somebody answered the phone while recording and said
"This had better be important to call me 3:30 in the morning!"

If you go before the judge and listen to the recording, it would seem to indicate they were calling 3:30 in the morning.

LOL......now if only I had a recorder on my cell phone

I have realized that the Silent ringtone is a godsend! Before I was hearing the phone ring & putting it on mute like every 10 min. Now I have Silent setup so my phone just flashes but doesn't ring. My friends & family have certain ringtones so I always hear their calls.

[duplantisjj]

LOL......now if only I had a recorder on my cell phone

I have realized that the Silent ringtone is a godsend! Before I was hearing the phone ring & putting it on mute like every 10 min. Now I have Silent setup so my phone just flashes but doesn't ring. My friends & family have certain ringtones so I always hear their calls.

OMG! I was having a dead battery everyday until I figured out how to set my ringtones. It was nice to check the calls recieved log at the end of the day and learn that I had 33 calls and never heard the ringer.

Now, they've stopped altogether, except an occasional call from NCO (hired by Amex). I mention the BK and they always apologize because they "say" their computer hasn't been updated..and then they say they can clear my Amex acct for 25% of the orginal amount....uh huhhhhh....I politely say, oh thank you but the US Justice Dept is clearing it for free, have a nice day, click. :-)

[tropolis]

turn off your ringer. go through messages after 9 pm. delete what you want. dont give the creditors your cell phone. keep that on. its great not hearing the collections people anymore. all i do at the end of the day is hit delete. takes 10 seconds.

[liz417]

OMG! ..and then they say they can clear my Amex acct for 25% of the orginal amount....uh huhhhhh....I politely say, oh thank you but the US Justice Dept is clearing it for free, have a nice day, click. :-)

LOL!!!

[Flameout]

For those of you that are getting many phone calls from creditors, there are numerous ways to work around this. If you have Verizon phone service, look into getting iobi added to your service. It has a great call blocking feature. You can also look on the internet for call blocking software and devices. Once installed, you decide what numbers are to be blocked and just like that, no more calls from that number or creditor!

[krispy12]

For those of you that are getting many phone calls from creditors, there are numerous ways to work around this. If you have Verizon phone service, look into getting iobi added to your service. It has a great call blocking feature. You can also look on the internet for call blocking software and devices. Once installed, you decide what numbers are to be blocked and just like that, no more calls from that number or creditor!

Good advice but I just quit my Verizon contract recently. Regardless, I think the silent ringer is above all because these creditors don't always call from the same number. Their phone number changes frequently all the time so you would have to keep updating which ones to block.

I do have one pet peeve though. At one time I was getting so many calls from creditors that sometimes when I open my phone to make a call, I've picked up a call from a creditor lol. Then either I talk to them or hang up right away depending on my mood.