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How to stop bill collectors from calling you

By Debt Prison on February 5, 2009

This website does not administer legal or financial advice. The contents of this website are my opinions on collection agencies and how to deal with them. Nothing on this website should be interpreted as legal advice or council. No opinions on this website should be used to replace the advice of your financial advisor or your legal council.

How do you stop a bill collector from calling you constantly… especially if the person they want to talk to doesn’t even live there? Such is the case with FSK over at FSK’s Guide to Reality. It seems the collection agency wants to get in touch with FSK’s sister, and she doesn’t live with FSK. Despite telling them repeatedly that she doesn’t live there, they continue the constant bombardment of phone calls. The interesting thing about this situation is that the collection agency is not calling a number where they can reach the debtor. There are ways to stop the phone calls – but you have to get serious with them. You should be able to stop the phone calls without getting a lawyer involved.

To file a complaint with FTC regarding a collection agency click here or call toll free at 1-877-FTC-HELP.

A bill collector has to stop calling your place of employment if you request them to – this request should be done verbally and in writing. Why are they calling despite the verbal request to stop? This is harassment and harassment is what pays their bills! They’re hoping FSK (or anybody) will pay this debt to end the phone calls.

I have an amusing anecdote about a debt collector. My sister gave my parent’s phone number on a credit application, or they somehow got it. According to my sister, she legitimately canceled a service but they kept billing her anyway. Now, a collection agency owns the debt. They’re using a dirty tactic you haven’t mentioned on your website.

The debt collector calls *ALL THE TIME*. I told them “She doesn’t live here anymore. Please stop calling this number.” Whenever I say “Please stop calling”, they immediately disconnect the phone call, pretending they didn’t hear. The debt appears to keep getting passed to different collection agencies, or the agency keeps trying different tactics.

If I tell Agency A “Please stop calling”, and the debt is sold to Agency B, then does my “Please stop calling” request still count?

I’m pretty sure this falls under “abusive debt collection practices”. However, it isn’t practical to sue. The person they’re calling *DOES NOT LIVE HERE*, and they hang up the phone whenever I say “She doesn’t live here” or “Please stop calling”. By dropping the call and pretending to not hear, they’re probably technically not violating the law. They have plausible deniability “I never heard FSK say ‘Please stop calling!’”

Well let’s see what we can come up with for this nasty, nasty problem. First of all, every time the debt moves to another collection agency you have to start all over again with any requests… just as though they are the first collector to get their hands on your debt. This means writing ‘cease and desist’ letters and recording/documenting their calls (if you want to sue them).

There are a couple of options here that will work for FSK and these pesky collectors. The first is to identify who the collector is. One way to do that is to ask them. Now there’s only certain information that they’ll give to someone, over the phone, whom is not the debtor. However, according to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act the collector is required, if you ask them, to identify their employer.

(1) identify himself, state that he is confirming or correcting location information concerning the consumer, and, only if expressly requested, identify his employer;

Cease and Desist Letter

You can also request their address, but there is nothing in the FDCPA that requires them to provide you with the address. You could ask them what state they are calling from and then look the address up. You want their address so you can write them a ‘limited cease and desist’ letter. The letter should be sent registered U.S. mail with return receipt. This way you have proof that they received the letter.

I would like to request, in writing, that no telephone contact be made by your offices to my home or to my place of employment. If your offices attempt telephone communication with me, including but not limited to computer generated calls and calls or correspondence sent to or with any third parties, it will be documented and considered harassment. All future communications with me must be done in writing and sent to the address noted in this letter by USPS.

Now bear in mind that this letter would only by legal if it is signed by the debtor. This letter should slow the phone calls down or eliminate them. Another way to get their address would be for FSK to ask his sister to get a free copy of her credit report at http://annualcreditreport.com. The collection agency’s name and address may be visible on the credit report.

Documenting the Calls

If they continue to call you can document the calls using a program like “phone tray” which works by plugging your phone line into the back of a pc. Phone Tray then works like a caller i.d., documenting all calls and call times in a format that can be printed off. Now you can document all of their calls on paper. Also, you can purchase a phone recorder like this one. It’s around $45.00 and has a variety of uses besides recording bill collectors. Some states require you to inform the other party that the call is being recorded. Twelve states require, under most circumstances, the consent of all parties to a conversation. Those jurisdictions are California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington.

You can answer the calls and tell them to stop calling and record the conversations. At this point you should have documented the calls on paper and possibly have phone recordings which clearly demonstrate these facts.

At this point, after ten or so calls, I would make copies of the caller i.d. archive and audio of the phone conversations. Now you need to send these copies to the collection agency using registered mail. You would also attach a letter which explains that the collection agency has continued calling despite requests to stop. You consider this harassment and hope to avoid a legal suit against their office if they will simply stop calling your home.

This should stop the calls and if not you can always opt to have a law office write letters on your behalf.

If the debt gets passed to another collection agency then this process starts all over.

Discuss this article and meet new people at Debt Prison Forums.

Related Articles

* What is a Junk Debt Buyer?

* Restrictions on Wage Garnishment for Debt Collection.

* The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

* Reasons not to file Bankruptcy or Settle Your Debts

* Can you go to jail for not paying your debts?

* How to settle your debts on your own

* How to deal with collection agencies

* Sample Debt Validation Letter

Why Phone Conversations with Bill Collectors is a Bad Idea

By Debt Prison on January 13, 2009

**Disclaimer – Debtprison.net does not administer legal or financial advice. The contents of this website are my opinions on collection agencies and how to deal with them. Nothing on this website should be interpreted as legal advice or council. No opinions on this website should be used to replace the advice of your financial advisor or your legal council.

A highly trained bill collector knows how to get the most money out of defaulted debtors. While you are nervously thinking of what to say they are taking notes… updating your credit file. A good bill collector normally has an outgoing personality and tough outer shell. Therefore collectors learn early on not to take the job personal. They also learn how to take everything you say to build a case against you. A bill collector will listen carefully to everything you say (while at the same time recording the conversation), as well as the way you say it, to develop a plan of action which will most likely generate a payment from you. See also all of my articles on Collection Agencies.

Bill collectors are not your friend, and though they may appear concerned, they are really only concerned about their paycheck. Collectors work off of commission, often receiving 10 to 25% of your payment to the collection agency. So if they get you to cough up $100… they just made $25 buckaroos. These collectors also have a monthly quota to achieve. If they fail to meet the monthly collection quota they can be let go. A collection agency needs bill collectors that can produce dollars while maintaining a level of conduct compliant with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

The only time I would consider speaking with a collection agency is when I have an offer for them. For example, I would give the dollar amount paid monthly, the total number of months to be paid, and the conditions of how I wanted this reflected on my credit report. They would then have to agree with those terms, put them in writing, sign the contract, and send me a copy. This would be a no debate discussion… here are the terms… period. If you don’t agree with those terms then contact me when you do.

Controlling the Conversation

The bill collector needs to stay in control of the conversation to steer you towards a payment. Maintaining control is their number one priority. Using a sort of psychological authority, since you owe them money, they proceed to make demands in a civil tone. A good collector is looking for verbal cues from you which will indicate what buttons he needs to push to separate you from your cash.

Collecting Asset Information

While the collector is buddying up to you… he’s updating your file with any asset information you provide. For example, if you say times are tough because you are paying on a house or vehicle note… well you just gave them an asset to add to your file. They will also inquire as to any land, homes, vehicles, savings accounts, or stocks, that perhaps you could sell to satisfy this debt. If you tell them that you have a job they will rightly figure that you can produce some monthly payment amount.

Lump Sum Demand

A collection agency will almost always demand a lump sum payment the first time you talk with them. They do this because many debtors are intimidated and cough up the lump sum. However, they do not need the lump sum and can be worked down to a rational monthly payment plan. Their goal is to get you on the phone, intimidate you with fear tactics, and proceed to collect as much moolah as possible. Did I mention that talking with bill collectors on the phone is a bad idea? A bill collector wants you on the phone – they don’t want you ignoring the calls, and instead, writing those pesky debt validation letters.

Legal Suit

Through the process of updating your file they will determine if they stand a good chance of collecting the money by pursuing a civil suit. If they know your house is paid for; this is a perfect asset for them to seek a lien against via a court judgment. If they know that you have a decent job they will seek to garnish your wages, and if possible, take money directly out of any banking account you have. A good candidate is one with at least one asset, at least a $500 balance, and the account is not in dispute.

Here are some good tips I found at wikihow.com for talking with collection agencies on the phone (if this article didn’t convince you not to):

You must keep a calm, reasonable and well mannered tone of voice. Any yelling, name calling or other verbal tactics will damage the image you’re working to project.

If they speak to you in any way that you find objectionable, give them one warning, as mentioned in your opening statement. The second time you should ask to speak to their supervisor. When you’re connected with the supervisor start again from step one.

Write down everything, including: the date and time of the call, name and position on the rep calling you, what they want, what you’re offering, etc.

Many times the names of the collectors are not their real ones. One way to figure it out is to send the signature receipt letter addressed only to that one person. If they sign back with their signature on the letter, they must be that person (otherwise it becomes a federal offense of mail fraud).

Sometimes you just can’t win because they won’t listen to reason or acknowledge that you legally are not obligated to the debt. In this case – you should establish a long paper trail indicating that they did not wish to collect on the debt in good faith. When they file your collection with the credit agencies, mail copies of your paper trail to all three, with documentation that they violated the Fair Debt Collection Act and demand removal of the claim from your credit report immediately.

Be very careful about making any payments if the debt is past the statute of limitations or about to be since that may restart the clock and you may then owe the full amount even if the collector told you that you would only have to pay a small amount and then they would leave you alone.