Collection Agency Harrassment - Wrong Number

[_TAD_]

I Live in Milwaukee WI.

I have had the same phone number for the past 3 years, but apparently who-ever had it before me did not update her profiles with various creditors.

I am now receiving up to three phone calls per day (roughly 10 per week) from a collection agency. I have told them a number of times (over the phone) that the person they are looking for "Sandra" does not live at the phone number they are calling.

I would like to send them a fax (written warning) telling them to cease and decist.

I don't want to be letigious, I just want them to stop. I think the only way to get their attention is to threaten lawsuit. If I do threaten lawsuit, does it have merit?

Who can I contact to help rectify this situation? Is there some kind of "better business bureau" for collection agencies?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
~Tad

[julbug66]

a C&D letter should suffice. you don't have to threaten lawsuit, just put it in writing "please stop calling this number, Sandra does not live here". send it registered mail with delivery confirmation. if you keep receiving calls after that, then threaten legal action. at that point, they would be violating federal law.

[_TAD_]

Originally Posted by julbug66

a C&D letter should suffice. [...] if you keep receiving calls after that, then threaten legal action. at that point, they would be violating federal law.

Which Federal Law? I would at least like to quote the statute in my letter. I am sure there is a time limit for compliance as well. Assuming they receive the letter on Monday, when is it reasonable to assume that my number has been removed from their system? Tuesday? Wednesday?

At what point would it be reasonable to seek legal action?

I've already talked with them countless times about this. I'm just not convinced that certified letter would do anything (although I could be wrong).

[debtcollector`]

I'm a bit contrary to the popular opinion that a cease and desist letter is the end all and be of debtor existance -- in this case even more so.

1. You don't have standing to write a cease and desist letter for someone else's debt.

A CA in calling you because your number was given by the debtor. Most collection agencies have no desire to call the wrong the people. It costs time and money. There are procedures for marking numbers as bad.

Do you know the debtor?
If so, give the CA the correct number and ask for yours to be marked bad -- once the number is verified, yours will be marked as a nonresident contact.
If you do know the debtor and don't have a contact number, the FDCPA expressly permits calls to you. Give them the number or grin and bear it.
If you do not, simply answer their verification question and be done with it.

Have they asked you to verify your address? That our any section of the SSN usually suffices.

DC

[LSCAP]

I wouldn't give my ss Number to someone I don't know for a debt that's not mine.

§ 804. Acquisition of location information [15 USC 1692b]
Any debt collector communicating with any person other than the consumer for the purpose of acquiring location information about the consumer shall --
(1) identify himself, state that he is confirming or correcting location information concerning the consumer, and, only if expressly requested, identify his employer;
(2) not state that such consumer owes any debt;
(3) not communicate with any such person more than once unless requested to do so by such person or unless the debt collector reasonably believes that the earlier response of such person is erroneous or incomplete and that such person now has correct or complete location information;
§ 806. Harassment or abuse [15 USC 1692d]
A debt collector may not engage in any conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse any person in connection with the collection of a debt. Without limiting the general application of the foregoing, the following conduct is a violation of this section:
(5) 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.

Does this help?

[debtcollector`]

Originally Posted by LSCAP

...unless the debt collector reasonably believes that the earlier response of such person is erroneous or incomplete

Yup I think that about sums it up...

DC

[LSCAP]

I had something similar happen to me. They just kept calling. It isn't my debt. They want to talk to the debtor who doesn't live here.

I finallly answered with a question, Isnt this DATE,TIME, and Person and company calling. Then explained "In this state (NC) I dont really have to tell you that I am recording this conversation."

Its been three weeks and so far I havent heard from them.

How about we consider this .§ 806. Harassment or abuse [15 USC 1692d]
A debt collector may not engage in any conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse any person in connection with the collection of a debt. Without limiting the general application of the foregoing, the following conduct is a violation of this section:

Again I say,
5) 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.

Does this help?

[debtcollector`]

Originally Posted by LSCAP

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.

Does this help?

"...with intent to..."
People throw legalisms around like water at the beach on this site --- for you have a claim you have toi prove the agency intends to annoy, abuse or harass you -- the CA doesn't. They intend to contact the debtor and collect on the debt.

As for what you said in your conversation --- great, you can read the caller id. Now may I speak with XXXX please.

You confirm we have a wrong number with me through our procedures. I mark the number as bad and move one.

When you get legal like on the phone and start acting like a dbtr hiding or someone hiding the debter your second posting on this thread enters "unless the debt collector reasonably believes that the earlier response of such person is erroneous or incomplete"

Who decides reasonable -- the Collector.

DC

[debtcollector`]

a minor correction to your earlier post for your benefit LSCAP: When recording interstate calls, you must adhere to the laws of stricter state or federal.

Here is the FCCs guideline:
The FCC protects the privacy of telephone conversations by requiring notification before a recording device is used to record interstate or foreign telephone conversations. These types of conversations may not be recorded unless the use of a recording device is:

* Preceded by verbal or written consent of all parties to the telephone conversation; or
* Preceded by verbal notification which is recorded at the beginning, and as part of the call, by the recording party; or
* Accompanied by an automatic tone warning device, sometimes called a beep tone, which automatically produces a distinct signal that is repeated at regular intervals during the course of the telephone conversation when the recording device is in use.
* Also, no recording device may be used unless it can be physically connected to and disconnected from the telephone line or switched on and off.

You may want to make sure you are not placing yourself at legal risk.

DC

[LSCAP]

Debt collector, I live in NC, I can record my phone calls with out notifying anyone. That is NC law. and by the way some other states.

And naturally a debt collector believes he has the right to determine if he is annoying etc. Then after I send a letter telling him to stop.
HE decides I don’t know what I’m talking about and continues, then I report them and then THEY have to show “a preponderance of evidence” that they didn’t violate the law.

[LSCAP]

Debtcollector. It is beginning to look as if you and I are the only ones around here. LOL LOL

[debtcollector`]

Originally Posted by LSCAP

Debtcollector. It is beginning to look as if you and I are the only ones around here. LOL LOL

LOL....

I didn't post the recording info to start a dispute just pointing out that when calls cross state lines, there are three sets of laws to consider. The originating state, the receiving state and the federal. Currently, there isn't a valid precedent to determine which set of laws have jurisdiction.

At my company -- we follow the federal laws. Just cautioning you to make sure you're clear.

I understand your point of view, but it is the responsibility of the party bringing the action to provide the proof. The preponderance of evidence falls on the ... well, in this case... you.

The problem with the logic is that companies program the computers to present so many phone numbers to collectors each day that you almost never speak to the same collector two or three days in a row. That avoids the intent issue.

Yes the FDCPA gives people powerful rights and restains improper collections, but it is still slanted very heavily in favor of the CA.

DC

[russeal]

Again, this is not legal advice, but be as big a pain as they are. If they call and talk to you, ask for a supervisor, someone who can make sure they quit calling you. If they won't take you off their list, get their 800 and call them and keep at it. They will get as tired of it as you. Not great for your blood pressure, but it sometimes works. I belieive they have access to information that will tell them that it is not the number of the party they are trying to contact. Tell them to verify that the phone number still belongs to the person they are trying to call. You can be nice to start, sometimes that will work. Best of Luck.

[Ladynred]

When I first moved here 5 years ago, I started getting a whole lot of very annoying messages on my answering machine. There would be 4 or 5 A DAY from the SAME collection agency looking for someone that I sure as hell didn't know, I'd only been in the state for less than 3 months ! I ignored the calls and stupid 'call back immediately its an urgent matter' BS, calls referring to this same person.

One day I'd gotten off of work early (it was then a 45 mile drive 1 way to work) for a dr's appointment and was at home when this same woman from the CA called yet again looking for this "Ms Somebody'. I was NOT in a good mood, so I decided to answer and talk to this collector. She was EXTREMELY rude and assumed, of course, that *I* was the person she was chasing. I tried to calmly explain to her that I had only just moved to the state, I had absolutely NO idea who it was she was looking for, and that this person did NOT live at my address or my number, I LIVE ALONE. The bitch got real nasty and started SCREAMING at me !!

Well, I was NOT in a good mood to start with, fed up with their constant phone calls, so I let the witch have it with both barrels. She would NOT listen to ANYTHING I had to say when I was calm and trying to be polite to this mental midget. I ended up hanging up on her with no resolution. A couple of hours later, they called AGAIN.. I ignored it, my blood pressure was high enough as it was.

The next day, I called the phone company. I wanted to know if my number had been one that had been re-assigned from a previous resident. The woman at the phone company told me that MY number was a NEW number and I was the first person to have it. So, there is NO WAY this collector had the RIGHT number for the person they were looking for, but they continued to ANNOY me and intrude on MY HOME when they were completly wrong. One more time I called the collection agency myself, tried being very calm with collector #3 at that extension. I explained, once again, that they had a WRONG number, I had no clue who this person they were after was I'd only just moved to this state, and I demanded that they take MY number out of their system and stop harrassing me. I did it as calmly as possible, but I was very firm. This collector says 'well, we have this phone number for this person', I told her 'you're wrong, that per the phone company MY phone number was brand new and have never been assigned to anyone else !! FINALLY, that got the point across, and they stopped calling me.

A few months later, I was in Circuit City and went to use my CC but it had been de-activated. The guy asked me for my phone number so I gave it to him (w/o the area code). He then asked me are you Ms. XXXXX or Ms. XXXX (me) ? I was suspicious, so I asked to look at what was on his screen. There it was, the name of the person that collection agency had been looking for. The last 7 digits of the phone number were the same.. BUT the AREA CODE was different !! Dumbazz collection agency had the wrong damn AREA CODE !!!

Debt collectors automatically assume THEY are right and everyone else is lying. That you MUST be hiding the debtor, even it that person is a complete and total STRANGER to you.

[_TAD_]

Wow... I take a couple of days off and I miss everything!

First, let me preface this with the problem is not just with this collection agency. I receive, on average, 5 or 6 phone calls each and every day for this Sandra person. I did a bit of searching on the internet and found out that she did have my phone number about 5 years ago. I am guessing that she is still giving it out (probably at bars and night-clubs as many of the callers are men).

So I a really am at the point where I think I'm going to change my phone number.


But until then, I just want this collection agency to stop calling. As I mentioned in my original post, I do not want to get letigious, I just want them to stop calling. They are well aware that Sandra does not live at my residence.


Thanks for all of the suggestions!