Employer angry at collection calls?

[Mi Bankruptcy]

Answer the call and ask who is calling..Then tell them this conversations is being recorded. If they do not wish to be recorded then they need to hang up or contact you by mail.

[WoodSprite]

Here's your cease & desist letter

I have told them not to call, I warned them I would be fired, I even said I couldn't discuss this matter here. But they don't care, they keep calling over and over.

Wellsfargo is by far the worse creditor I have, they are relentless, they know I am filing as do all of them but they keep calling me and simply stating. "It says you are filing bankruptcy, is that correct"? And I say "yes it is" and they hang up. That has happened 3 days in a row now... lol

Hi, Mark -

You have to do it in writing to make it stick. Sounds like you don't have much time for research at the moment, so here's a short, sweet, and legal cease and desist letter you can just cut & paste into your own doc. Remember to send it via registered mail.

http://credit.about.com/od/debtcolle...eanddesist.htm

Yesterday on another thread I posted this link to the a Wikipedia overview of the FTC's Fair Debt Collection Practices Act:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_De..._Practices_Act

which includes:

Prohibited conduct

The Act prohibits certain types of "abusive and deceptive" conduct when attempting to collect debts, including the following:

• Causing a telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously: with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass any person at the called number.

• Contacting consumers at their place of employment after having been advised in writing that this is not acceptable

• Contacting consumer known to be represented by an attorney

• Contact after being asked to stop: contacting consumers in any way (other than litigation) after receiving written notice that said consumer wishes no further contact or refuses to pay the alleged debt, with certain exceptions, including advising that collection efforts are being terminated or that the collector intends to file a lawsuit or pursue other remedies where permitted

• Contact with third parties: revealing or discussing the nature of debts with third parties (other than the consumer's spouse or attorney) or threatening such action

The complete 28-page document is available as a PDF:

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/cons...edit/cre27.pdf

Good luck, and let us know when the baby comes, okay?

[Mark80]

Woodsprite! Thank you very much for all that! Now should I send each letter to the billing address on my invoices?



EDIT: I forgot, someone told me this only can work with debt collection agencies, I am still getting calls from creditors. Will this apply to them also?

[WoodSprite]

Sorry, moderators...

...I have sinned. It was in the spirit of helpfulness, though, so I hope you'll be merciful. Of course as soon as I hit "send" I had a feeling this couldn't possibly be new information. Sure enough, there's a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act sticky on the Collections list:

http://www.bkforum.com/showthread.php?t=946

Mea culpa...

[WoodSprite]

I forgot, someone told me this only can work with debt collection agencies, I am still getting calls from creditors. Will this apply to them also?

Argh! Someone was right:

The FDCPA broadly defines a debt collector as "any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or the mails in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of any debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another." [1] While the FDCPA generally only applies to third party debt collectors--not internal collectors for an "original creditor" -- some states, such as California, have similar state consumer protection laws which mirror the FDCPA, and regulate original creditors. In addition, courts have generally found debt buyers to be covered by the FDCPA even though they are collecting their own debts. The definitions and coverage have changed over time. The FDCPA itself contains numerous exceptions to the definition of a "debt collector," particularly after the October 13, 2006, passage of the Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2006. Attorneys, originally explicitly excepted from the definition of a debt collector, have been included (to the extent that they otherwise meet the definition) since 1986.

I'm sorry...

[Mark80]

I must find it in my heart to forgive you! But it will take some time!