collections calling family members

[DYLAN150]

I am from Washington state and our prenup got thrown out of court ( lucky for me) because it was not sign 30 days in advance of the marriage. Back in 2000 we took it to Reno with us and both sign it the day before.

[catleg]

The way this is done is, they build up a database, and look for any overlapping information to connect potential contact points in your life.
For example, did you live with your parents while you had a credit card in your name with their address as your address? Connected.
This can get funny, as when my accounts with JP Morgan Chase were in collections, and yet I still had online web access, so I could see them
updating my contact info on the accounts. One of the phone numbers they came up with was the current resident at my previous address.
Just proves that you can get collection calls even when you know nothing about the deadbeat party, and even then they might not even believe you!

[CCC]

Yeah, I know several people who were in a similar situation and their creditors didn't hesitate to call their mother's and other family members.

[DAE]

I have pieced together though my experience that creditors also subscribe to the U.S. Postal Change of Address Database. They can use the database to overlay your movements vis-a-vis neighbors, family, and friends.

[Sariah]

This happened to me. Government student loan collectors (hired by TG I guess) were calling my 15 year old daughter's cell phone while she was sitting in her high school class! Don't know how they even got her number!!!

[Sariah]

And it was repeatedly about 4-5 times!

[frogger]

The way this is done is, they build up a database, and look for any overlapping information to connect potential contact points in your life.
For example, did you live with your parents while you had a credit card in your name with their address as your address? Connected.
This can get funny, as when my accounts with JP Morgan Chase were in collections, and yet I still had online web access, so I could see them
updating my contact info on the accounts. One of the phone numbers they came up with was the current resident at my previous address.
Just proves that you can get collection calls even when you know nothing about the deadbeat party, and even then they might not even believe you!

And that database continues to build each and every day with every thing that you do. Not only does the database build based upon your ssn, it builds based upon address and telephone number as well.

It's pretty easy to connect you to parents, siblings, family, etc., based upon addresses.

[frogger]

I have pieced together though my experience that creditors also subscribe to the U.S. Postal Change of Address Database. They can use the database to overlay your movements vis-a-vis neighbors, family, and friends.

You're referring to what's known as COA, and it is used by almost everyone in the collections business. You gather up a report of "bad" addresses, and submit via the COA program, and you get "scrubbed" information back in return.

The same is also done with the big-boy of database collection, and they refer to it as "batching" and "scrubbing".

Very effective......

[tobee43]

this is from march...but...it covers third party calling...

Debt collection company pays record-setting civil penalty



March 22, 2011

Incessant phone calls to consumers, often about accounts that weren't theirs.

Repeated autocalls to wrong numbers.

Illegal disclosures to other people that a consumer owes money.

Those are just some of the allegations in the FTC's recent settlement with West Asset Management, a debt collection company that employs more than 1,500 collectors in 13 states and one offshore location. According to the FTC's lawsuit filed in federal court in Atlanta, the company violated the FTC Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) through those illegal tactics — and more. The FTC also charged that West Asset Management ignored consumers' written demands that the company stop calling them and in certain cases, withdrew funds from consumers' bank accounts or charged their credit cards without their consent.

No lightweight in the business, West Asset Management has collected on more than 24 million accounts on behalf of clients in the healthcare, telecommunications, consumer credit, and government service industries. The company's tactics led to thousands of complaints from consumers.

In addition to a $2.8 million civil penalty — the largest ever in an FTC debt collection case — the settlement with West Asset Management bans a host of prohibited acts, including calling consumers before 8 in the morning, after 9 at night, or at their workplace; harassing them with repeated phone calls; and illegally communicating to third parties that a consumer owes a debt.

If you're in the debt collection industry or have clients who are, you know that this settlement is the latest in a series of FTC enforcement actions to protect the rights of consumers in financial distress. The hefty civil penalty and far-reaching injunction serve as a reminder that now’s the time for a FDCPA compliance check-up.

http://business.ftc.gov/blog/2011/03/debt-collection-company-pays-record-setting-civil-penalty

[Sariah]

Ugh! I am wondering how a student loan creditor got my 16 year old high-schooler's cell phone number and phoned her in the middle of class several times over my student loan debt. This same creditor also called my father and pretended they knew me and needed my contact information/whereabouts so they use me as a personal reference on their car loan.

[tobee43]

seriously, you need to file a complaint....go to

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/cons...dit/cre18.shtm

and file!!!! the FTC is beginning act on these people. while it's ok to contact a third party once, they can't keep calling and pretend they are someone else.

[doni49]

My parents have informed me that they get calls on their answering machine. The "voice" leaving the message is obviously computer generated and the message goes something like this:

This is a very important call for Don Iglesius. If you are not Don Iglesius, please hang up now. By continuing to listen to this message, you are certifying that you are Don Iglesius. If you are Don Iglesius, please be sure you are in a private area as we will be providing private information and hold the line. This is an attempt to collect a debt.

[tobee43]

they can still report the number to the FTC.

[debtprison]

seriously, you need to file a complaint....go to

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/cons...dit/cre18.shtm

and file!!!! the FTC is beginning act on these people. while it's ok to contact a third party once, they can't keep calling and pretend they are someone else.

Definitely. These violations might also be so blatant that it might possibly be worth it to look for an attorney to take on the case. If not that, at least consider bringing it to small claims yourself. If you can document it I would think almost any judge would rule in your favor.

[nomoneynomore]

We received debt collection calls on our phone number for 4 years for another family. Each and every time we told them the same story, but company after company kept calling. The family was still using our number, so new companies kept calling. It got very old, especially after our debt calls stopped! My heart would skip a beat thinking what horrible surprise was on the other end of the phone!