Being Harassed....

[gonebroke4no]

100 years ago prior to our first filing I worked at a Collections Agency. Our general rule of thumb was 3 calls per day. They cannot continuously call. I had a chat with the telephone company a few weeks ago about this very thing. I think they called my house like 15 or 20 times one day.. WTF? If you sent the letter certified mail they absolutely have to follow that letter. Without certified mail they could easily say they did not get it (same with a fax it got lost we didn't see it best bet is use certified mail then you have SOLID proof) If not they are breaking the law. This is nothing to joke about as a collector. Not only is the company liable (I think) but the person making the calls can also be held liable. I believe when I was training it was something to the tune of 30,000 dollars. (haha when someone tells me if I call someone when they don't want me to I can be sued for a huge sum of money I listen) When someone told us not to call them anymore even over the PHONE we took heed and stopped calling them just so there was no question. This was not only debtors but people we skip traced looking for others, basically anyone that said don't call we stopped calling!

Pavlikclan, out of curiosity, when you worked at the collections agency and received a C&D letter, were they usually for both Snail Mail AND telephone contact? If so, what would the agency do next? Based on what I have read in these forums, it seems that a debtor breaking off communication with the creditor or collector makes them mad and then gives them (the creditor or collection agency) no other option than to sue, since the debtor has closed the door on any options to try to resolve the matter out of court, and suing is their only option. Yet with your experience of working at a collection agency, I know that they can not just sit on a defaulted account for ever once the debtor sends them a C&D letter. So I was just curious to know what tends to happen when the agency gets a C&D letter.

[frogger]

I know that they can not just sit on a defaulted account for ever once the debtor sends them a C&D letter. So I was just curious to know what tends to happen when the agency gets a C&D letter.

Sure they can. When a C/D letter is received, you cease communications, however the account should be monitored. At the time a C/D is received, an account should be examined for possible legal action. If there does not appear to be a verified source of income or property to attach, it could be shoved back for a few months. Rest assured however that is not "forgotten" about. It just get placed in the collectors and/or legal departments work for another day.

[pavlikclan]

Yes you can require them to stop contacting you by mail as well. What happens next? They call up the country courthouse and do a property search on you to try to find property to lien against or seize in a lawsuit. I was a skip tracer when I worked for them not a collector. I filled my days calling people with the same last name, last known phone numbers, employers, jails trying to locate debtors. If they can't be located the next step is to locate property. I am not certain how it worked after that but if I found property I noted it into the account and sent it to the office manager and she took it from there. I wasn't mean enough for them to do the collections part of the deal There were TONS of accounts though that went into charge off. If you demand they cease communication, you have no property, they may sue you or they may just charge it off, I also believe but I am not certain that they sometimes in the event of not being able to locate a debtor will basically cease looking for them for a few months and then start anew it seems like 90 days or something but I can't remember for certain it was a long time ago!

[gonebroke4no]

Thank you Frogger and Pavlikclan. I appreciate you both elaborating on this. It is very insightful, helpful, and good to know.

[tobee43]

Hi everyone! Hope you all had a great holiday.

I need some advice on how to handle this. Receiving phone calls from collection attorney for Case #3.

Little background on case #3:
Sued by Cap One
Answered summons
Went thru discovery phases (received nothing)
Went to court ordered mediation, at mediation the amount they had listed was about 1k LESS than what was stated on summons
Attorney was suppose to get me a complete breakdown of how they came to that amount - never received
Trial date set - 2 days before trial Cap One submitted a voluntary dismissal
Case Closed

Ok so last week I started receiving phone calls from Cap One's collection attorney (same one who sued). I got 3 phone calls and 3 voice messages on 12/20. I called them back and told them that they voluntary dismissed the case. The guy apologized and said he would update my records.

Well yesterday I received 3 more calls and 3 more messages. This time the message were a little threatening. Stating that they are going to take me to court, take my personal property and "wipe out" my bank account...lol

So I called back and explained everything once again and got hung up on...lol

I'm not sure what to do next. I'm still a little ways from filing. Any suggestions?

freddy...hope you had a great holiday!!!

PLEASE file a complaint http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/cons...dit/cre18.shtm


the sue thing is great sure...but you have to get an atty etc.....call the FTC....you can file the complaint on line or by phone...we did...it works because they are beginning to fine these people...

i did a blog on this subject matter because it's so terrible and people feel they are so trapped....http://www.bkforum.com/entry.php?367...OMPLAINT-TODAY!


it took me a few minutes on line and i tell you, i never heard from the creditors again....also i would mention it to your atty....even tho even a letter from the firm usually doesn't help either.

[tobee43]

oh...and c/d do not work either....honestly....LOL...these guys do not care...i have an entire file full of c/d certified letters.....might as well just been trashed....call the ftc...

[gonebroke4no]

Hello Tobee43,

Thank you for the input about the C & D letters. I guess I will still give them a try, because I really am amazed that it seems that 50% of the time, they do work for the people that have posted to this forum and another BK forum I belong to, yet I also have read 50% of the time that the C&D letters do not work. So I am just lost as to what I really should do . . . especially since having those letters certified cost so much more than the 44 cent letters. Yet I will at least send the 44 cent letters, and hope for the best.

I sure would like to know what is the secret to the C & D letters working, because I am just amazed when I read the postings that people post where their “certified” C & D letters DO NOT work and the “collection companies” STILL keep on calling . . . yet I do not know if that applied in the cases of the original creditors. So I guess it could have been the original creditors calling and disregarding the C & D letter. Yet in my case, it is the second string of collectors that are calling me.

[tobee43]

Hello Tobee43,

Thank you for the input about the C & D letters. I guess I will still give them a try, because I really am amazed that it seems that 50% of the time, they do work for the people that have posted to this forum and another BK forum I belong to, yet I also have read 50% of the time that the C&D letters do not work. So I am just lost as to what I really should do . . . especially since having those letters certified cost so much more than the 44 cent letters. Yet I will at least send the 44 cent letters, and hope for the best.

I sure would like to know what is the secret to the C & D letters working, because I am just amazed when I read the postings that people post where their “certified” C & D letters DO NOT work and the “collection companies” STILL keep on calling . . . yet I do not know if that applied in the cases of the original creditors. So I guess it could have been the original creditors calling and disregarding the C & D letter. Yet in my case, it is the second string of collectors that are calling me.

c/d do not work unless you are in bk or have been discharged....

it was funny...when we hired our atty the firm said have all calls directly to them....we did...even the atty's office sent letter to each and everyone since we were waiting a bit to file....NOT one of the letter even from the atty worked...ONLY after we had a docket number and the creditor was afraid of being in violation of the stay did they stop.

i'm curious as well to see copies on any c/d letter that worked before the person actually filed their bk?????

we just stopped answering after ONE person in the house had enough fun with them....he even had a few in tears....LOL!!

[gonebroke4no]

Okay Tobee43, thank you very much. I appreciate you elaborating on what happened in your case. How shocking to learn that the collectors even ignored your lawyer's C & D letters. However one thing that you shared that really stood out . . . it seems that as long as a person has a docket number and informs the creditors and collectors, the collection calls and collection letters stop very quickly, based on the many postings I have read as of late. Yet this is really good to know, and I so appreciate you sharing. Thanks again.

[BrokeinMD]

Hi Freddy and All - Here's the number to report these jerks. They're in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Act:

To file a complaint about a debt collector or creditor's in-house collection agency, call the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's toll-free hotline at (877) FTC-HELP or the FTC website

[tobee43]

Okay Tobee43, thank you very much. I appreciate you elaborating on what happened in your case. How shocking to learn that the collectors even ignored your lawyer's C & D letters. However one thing that you shared that really stood out . . . it seems that as long as a person has a docket number and informs the creditors and collectors, the collection calls and collection letters stop very quickly, based on the many postings I have read as of late. Yet this is really good to know, and I so appreciate you sharing. Thanks again.

you most welcome gonebroke...yeah, these creditors, even as bad as they are MOST do not what to be in violation of the stay put in place once you have filed and have the docket number.....that's when it's just NOT the FTC involvement, but the actual courts (your atty can go after them for damages etc.).

[RichM]

Debt collector misbehavior is the norm these days rather than the exception. So is telemarketer misbehavior. The latest trickery seems to be exploiting the exemption to the DO NOT CALL law that allows companies you already do business with to call you. Telemarketers now piggyback on top of banks, credit card companies, and even supermarkets (they get your number from the form you filled out to get your "loyalty card"), calling "on behalf of" those companies with "special offers" to get around the DO NOT CALL lists.

That's why I recommend that everyone get a cheap phone number (like a MagicJack number), and give ONLY that number to banks, finance companies, supermarkets, department stores, and so forth. That becomes your number for anyone you really don't care to hear from, and it is the ONLY number that they will ever get.

Then never answer that number.

If you use the MagicJack, just unplug it (except when you want to make an outgoing call), and it will send any voice mails to you as email attachments. This is a great feature because it gives you an actual file of the recorded message that can easily be forwarded to, for example, your attorney, the FTC, or even the police if the message contains threats of bodily harm (yes, there are collections agents, though thankfully only a few, who will stoop that low).

I talk a little more about the MagicJack here.

Nowadays, since my BK was discharged and closed, the only calls I get from collectors are from those looking for friends and others who are running behind on their bills, and who apparently gave my number as a reference when they applied for the loans.

I have a policy about how to handle these calls. If the collector is honest and follows the law, then I am honest. I won't give them any information, but I will honestly and courteously tell them that I will not provide any information, and to never call me again. I understand that they are not allowed to tell me that they're bill collectors, but neither should they tell me that they're old college buddies or something along those lines.

If the collector lies, or if they violate the law by telling me that they're bill collectors and that my friend is behind in his/her payments, then I give them bogus information worthy of their misbehavior. I tell them that I don't have a current phone number, but that I do have the new address. That address will be a nonexistent RD box on Pray Road (a real road), in the hamlet of Lisbon, New York, which is up by the Canadian border in St. Lawrence County. It's not the end of the world, but it's within walking distance.

I got snowbound there many years ago when I made a wrong turn on the way back from Ogdensburg. I would have rather spent the night in the worst neighborhood in New York City. The locals remind me of the characters in the movie Deliverance. Seriously. I hope that one of the collection agencies engaging in unlawful practices will some day send an actual collector there and start asking the locals questions.

-Rich

[tobee43]

Debt collector misbehavior is the norm these days rather than the exception. So is telemarketer misbehavior. The latest trickery seems to be exploiting the exemption to the DO NOT CALL law that allows companies you already do business with to call you. Telemarketers now piggyback on top of banks, credit card companies, and even supermarkets (they get your number from the form you filled out to get your "loyalty card"), calling "on behalf of" those companies with "special offers" to get around the DO NOT CALL lists.

That's why I recommend that everyone get a cheap phone number (like a MagicJack number), and give ONLY that number to banks, finance companies, supermarkets, department stores, and so forth. That becomes your number for anyone you really don't care to hear from, and it is the ONLY number that they will ever get.

Then never answer that number.

If you use the MagicJack, just unplug it (except when you want to make an outgoing call), and it will send any voice mails to you as email attachments. This is a great feature because it gives you an actual file of the recorded message that can easily be forwarded to, for example, your attorney, the FTC, or even the police if the message contains threats of bodily harm (yes, there are collections agents, though thankfully only a few, who will stoop that low).

I talk a little more about the MagicJack here.

Nowadays, since my BK was discharged and closed, the only calls I get from collectors are from those looking for friends and others who are running behind on their bills, and who apparently gave my number as a reference when they applied for the loans.

I have a policy about how to handle these calls. If the collector is honest and follows the law, then I am honest. I won't give them any information, but I will honestly and courteously tell them that I will not provide any information, and to never call me again. I understand that they are not allowed to tell me that they're bill collectors, but neither should they tell me that they're old college buddies or something along those lines.

If the collector lies, or if they violate the law by telling me that they're bill collectors and that my friend is behind in his/her payments, then I give them bogus information worthy of their misbehavior. I tell them that I don't have a current phone number, but that I do have the new address. That address will be a nonexistent RD box on Pray Road (a real road), in the hamlet of Lisbon, New York, which is up by the Canadian border in St. Lawrence County. It's not the end of the world, but it's within walking distance.

I got snowbound there many years ago when I made a wrong turn on the way back from Ogdensburg. I would have rather spent the night in the worst neighborhood in New York City. The locals remind me of the characters in the movie Deliverance. Seriously. I hope that one of the collection agencies engaging in unlawful practices will some day send an actual collector there and start asking the locals questions.

-Rich

ogdensburg nj????????

excuse me??? rich???? you're kidding right???

[RichM]

ogdensburg nj????????

excuse me??? rich???? you're kidding right???

Ogdensburg, New York. It's here.

No surprise that you haven't heard of it. No one has. The funniest thing is the "International Airport," which has one runway, no control tower, and had no lock on the waist-high perimeter fence the last time I was there.

It gets some traffic from across the river (Canada), hence the "International" designation. Last time I flew into there, there was a sign on the hangar that gave the number for the local customs office (in Canton, NY, I think), and instructed all international flights to call customs upon arriving.

-Rich

[tobee43]

Ogdensburg, New York. It's here.

No surprise that you haven't heard of it. No one has. The funniest thing is the "International Airport," which has one runway, no control tower, and had no lock on the waist-high perimeter fence the last time I was there.

It gets some traffic from across the river (Canada), hence the "International" designation. Last time I flew into there, there was a sign on the hangar that gave the number for the local customs office (in Canton, NY, I think), and instructed all international flights to call customs upon arriving.

-Rich

oh..ok..now i feel better... i have been to a few places where the "international" airports have been one runaway...or just a field....not my favorite moments either!

getting back to OP's situation...you are so right rich, it really is the "norm" nowadays the way these collectors work. i still think one should simply NOT answer the phone and if you do, tell them they have the wrong number....or just hang up.