Collection Agency harrassment...

[71ELCO]

I have a question. I am in some credit card debt and have been trying to settle out for some time. Lately one company has been calling my WORK daily. I have asked on several occasions that they NOT call my work as we cannot receive personal calls here. They ask if anyone else can be contacted or made aware of my sitution, I said no, it is my business and my business alone.

They continue to call, I just received a call about an hour ago from them AGAIN!! I am getting into trouble and if I lose my job I am REALLY screwed!!

Then my father calls me and tells me they got a call at there house and they guy told them EVERYTHING!! how much I owe, that they are trying to collect if they want to help, etc. I havent lived with my parents for years!!

Can they do this?? This is in California by the way. The supervisor I spoke to told me that that was way out of line and they are prohibited to do these kinds of things...call me at work, make my business known to others, etc. But then today they do the same thing AGAIN!!!

Any advice is GREATLY appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[Ladynred]

No, it is against the law for them to be telling all the details of your debt to anyone but you (or your spouse), 3rd party disclosure is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Calling you at work when they've been told that you aren't allowed calls like that at work is ALSO a violation and verbal notification IS binding per the FTC.

By the way, the CA version of the FDCPA also applies to ORIGINAL creditors.

You can write them a letter telling them that they are to cease calling you at work, that your employer does not allow personal calls and their continued violations are jeopardizing your job. No job = no money for them or anyone else. You can also tell them to cease all 3rd party contacts as that is also a violation of both Federal and State laws. Send it to them certified, return receipt requested. File a complaint with the FTC too, you can do it online at www.ftc.gov.

§ 805. Communication in connection with debt collection [15 USC 1692c]

(a) COMMUNICATION WITH THE CONSUMER GENERALLY. Without the prior consent of the consumer given directly to the debt collector or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, a debt collector may not communicate with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt --

(1) at any unusual time or place or a time or place known or which should be known to be inconvenient to the consumer. In the absence of knowledge of circumstances to the contrary, a debt collector shall assume that the convenient time for communicating with a consumer is after 8 o'clock antimeridian and before 9 o'clock postmeridian, local time at the consumer's location;

(2) if the debt collector knows the consumer is represented by an attorney with respect to such debt and has knowledge of, or can readily ascertain, such attorney's name and address, unless the attorney fails to respond within a reasonable period of time to a communication from the debt collector or unless the attorney consents to direct communication with the consumer; or

(3) at the consumer's place of employment if the debt collector knows or has reason to know that the consumer's employer prohibits the consumer from receiving such communication.

(b) COMMUNICATION WITH THIRD PARTIES. Except as provided in section 804, without the prior consent of the consumer given directly to the debt collector, or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, or as reasonably necessary to effectuate a postjudgment judicial remedy, a debt collector may not communicate, in connection with the collection of any debt, with any person other than a consumer, his attorney, a consumer reporting agency if otherwise permitted by law, the creditor, the attorney of the creditor, or the attorney of the debt collector.

 

[71ELCO]

Thanks for the info. I had been told it was against the law, but wasnt sure.

So told them on the phone AGAIN the other day NOT to call my work.

Guess who called today for me? Same people.

This is ridiculous, dont they understand, no job=no money???

 

[Neal1421]

Thanks for the info. I had been told it was against the law, but wasnt sure.

So told them on the phone AGAIN the other day NOT to call.

Guess who called today for me? Same people.

This is ridiculous, dont they understand, no job=no money???

Just a little hint...They usually stop calling when you pay them. Try to work out a way to pay them back and stick to it. That is one surefire way to keep them from calling you.

 

[71ELCO]

We have been trying to work something out, and I have no problem with them calling my cell phone, just NOT MY WORK. I had told them I was selling some things to put a large payment together. It fell through, there were problems with the bike I was unaware of and the guy did not buy it. I told them I would put some $$ together, etc. Since then they have been calling DAILY, MY WORK!!

I am not denying I owe them money.

 

[Ladynred]

Ok.. so you're going to HAVE to put the cease and desist in writing and get it to these mental midgets. Write up the C&D telling them to stop calling your work, it is NOT allowed by your employer, quote that section of the FDCPA I posted and mail the letter certified, RRR. You can also FAX the letter if you can get a fax number out of them, but follow up with the snail mail letter too.

FILE A COMPLAINT ! Not only are they violating CA state law, they are violating FEDERAL law, so you can complain to your Attorney General AND the FTC.

Do these calls go thru a switchboard ?? Can you tell them NOT to pass calls from these morons to you ??