On my free financial advice blog,
AskTheMoneyCoach.com, I get a lot of questions about how to handle debt collection agencies. But what about you: Have you ever had an irate bill collector call you and demand payment on a debt?
If any debt collection firms are harassing you – by constantly calling you all hours of the day or night, contacting you on the job when you say you can't get calls there, or using profane and threatening language -- such harassment is illegal and you can make them stop immediately.
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Debt Collection Horror Stories
No Way to Stop Them
AOL User ICANGELS Says:
"This company still calls my husband's work after receiving three written notices not to. Their representative also called our neighbors in her goal to embarrass us! They were calling my home up to eight times a day and hanging up on me, after I told them my husband wouldn't be home before 6:00 p.m. The problem? There's no way to stop them. They feel they are above the law and know there aren't any attorneys who will waste their time suing them."
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Debt Collection Horror Stories
Calling a Seven-Year-Old
AOL User SOCCERUTD Says:
"We had an unpaid bill because of a dispute in our retail business. Our sales rep doubled our order and then went on maternity leave, and [the company] said the only person who could fix it was her! A bill collector from Texas called over and over and I attempted to explain (the situation) to him ... The day before Thanksgiving he called and my daughter answered the phone -- she was 7 years old at the time. He said to her, 'Because of your daddy you are not going to be able to live in your house anymore and won't be able to have Thanksgiving there with your family, it is your Daddy's fault!'"
Debt Collection Horror Stories
Calling the In-Laws
AOL User Poolchick7 Says:
"These people are the worst. When they couldn't reach us about a car payment that was 10 days past due, they called our daughter's in-laws and left a message with them to have us call them back about a personal matter. We are talking about calling people whom I only see twice a year, and they somehow made a connection between my daughter, her in-laws and us. I can't think this is even legal!"
Debt Collection Horror Stories
Two Calls a Day
AOL User SBPFORD Says:
"I have been receiving calls twice a day from a collection agency. I ask them to send me a statement or something to file on insurance (medical claim), (and) they refuse. This bill is three years old and, they said, never filed on insurance. They call every morning around 9:30 and every evening about 8:30, seven days a week."
Debt Collection Horror Stories
Spiral Effect
AOL User RBettes941 Says:
"Do the credit companies and retailers realize they have created a spiraling effect on peoples credit? I have always had a score in excess of 750, and always paid my bills on time. Recently, due to my wife working on graduate school ... our debt to credit lines increased. We were at about 45% after (her) completion of school, then American Express dissolved our $25,000 credit line, which we owed nothing on. This moved our percentage of credit to debt to about 60%, and lowered our scores to less than 700. This caused other creditors to follow suit by lowering our credit lines, which then lowered our score again."
Debt Collection Horror Stories
Fake Debt Collectors
AOL User A114Sieb011 Says:
"I make six figures a year, my wife makes six figures a year, we owe no one a penny, yet I get daily calls from Palisades Collection saying to call them on a bad debt. I had, and the first thing on the recording is, 'Enter your social security number.' Yeah, right. I checked my credit report and there is no unusual activity. Palisades, quit calling you stalker."
Debt Collection Horror Stories
No Way to Stop Them
AOL User ICANGELS Says:
"This company still calls my husband's work after receiving three written notices not to. Their representative also called our neighbors in her goal to embarrass us! They were calling my home up to eight times a day and hanging up on me, after I told them my husband wouldn't be home before 6:00 p.m. The problem? There's no way to stop them. They feel they are above the law and know there aren't any attorneys who will waste their time suing them."
Debt Collection Horror Stories
Forgetting Their Promise
AOL User Gloqui5 Says:
"I got a phone call today from a credit card I couldn't pay 15 year ago. Back then I let them know that I just could not pay my balance of $300. They informed me that they would have to do a charge off, and it would show on my credit. They did, and it showed for seven years. Now 15 years later, they start calling and they want $600 or it will back on my credit. Can they do that?"
Debt Collection Horror Stories
Fake Lawsuit
AOL User Mnmkid221 Says:
"A collection company used city official names and paperwork to look as if I was being taken to court. However, when I called, the court knew nothing of the paperwork or of any lawsuit against me. It seems that the collection agency wanted me to panic at the sight of the papers and call the phone number provided on the 'official-looking papers.' Then they could terrify me and demand payment."
Debt Collection Horror Stories
Police Assistance
AOL User Deeannafrancis Says:
"I get a call that I am 49 days late with my payment, and it is now in collections. I told her I overlooked the December 15th bill, but I will pay it online right now. She loses it with me and screams at me that I can only pay her. I hang up, go online and make the $35.00 pmt. My phone rings again, I explain that I paid it online. After that, they put me on auto call for every 15 minutes for two days! The last phone call I got from them, I nicely asked her to hold, and I called the local police station. When I got back on the line with them, (I asked for) her name so that I could file a harrassment charge. She hung up and no one else called me."
Debt Collection Horror Stories
Hospital Scam
AOL User KMKiaski Says:
"Even though I had insurance, and it paid between $8,000 and $9,000 for a one night stay, I got bills for an additional $2,700 from the hospital much later. They said if I didn't pay it they would send it to collection, so I did. I later found out they regularly did this, charging more than the charge accepted by insurance and then frightening patients into paying that extra charge -- hey free money for them! A person I work with said the same hospital came up with several old charges years later."
Debt Collection Horror Stories
"Cease Contact" or "Cease and Desist" Letter
Simply write a brief letter advising them to cease all contact with you. The first sentence should say: "I am unable to pay this bill, because..." or "I refuse to pay this debt, because..." and explain your reason. You might be unable to pay because you are unemployed, sick, or going through a divorce. You might refuse to pay a debt because it's not your responsibility, you dispute the amount being demanded, or the
statute of limitations has expired on the debt (meaning the debt is too old to be legally enforced).
You also have the option of not providing a reason at all. If you provide no reason, the second sentence of your letter should state: "I hereby assert my right, under Section 805-C of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, to request that you cease any further communication with me." (In the back of my book,
Zero Debt, you will find a sample 'Cease & Desist Letter.' This basic language is all you need to communicate to debt collectors to get them off your back).
After they receive your 'Cease & Desist' letter, debt collection firms can't contact you, except to indicate that the collection process against you has stopped, or that they plan to take, or recommend that your original creditor take, legal action against you, such as taking you to court. Even then, debt collectors can't threaten legal action unless they truly intend to take it. Either way, the annoying phone calls and those harassing letters will immediately end.
"Usually (collectors) will say they'll proceed with court action and it's not true," says former collection agent John Bowe. "They'll say things like 'Your wages will be garnished' even if it's not true, because collectors will walk right over a person who's ignorant of the law. Knowing the
Fair Debt Collections Practices Act is the debtor's best tool against collection agents."
Using the U.S. Post Office
When you send your 'Cease & Desist' letter, make absolutely sure that you send it 'Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested.' I can't stress enough the importance of taking this step. "You definitely want to send the letter certified mail," cautions Bowe. "If it's not sent certified, they'll probably say it got lost in the mail and contact you again."
Your certified mail receipt from the Post office will be your proof of mailing. And having that return receipt – signed by an employee at the collection agency – will bolster your claims if you get embroiled in a legal dispute.
To get proof of delivery, you must fill out Form 3811 (the return receipt form) at the Post Office. That will cost a couple bucks, but don't fret over these charges. It's money well spent -- especially if it helps get those nasty debt collectors off your back.
Lynnette Khalfani-Cox, an award-winning financial news journalist and former Wall Street Journal reporter for CNBC, has also been featured in top newspapers including the Washington Post, USA Today, and the New York Times, as well as magazines ranging from Essence and Redbook to Black Enterprise and Smart Money. Check out her New York Times bestseller,
'Zero Debt: The Ultimate Guide to Financial Freedom.'
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By: FDCPA on 12/14/2010 7:35AM
Good Information... Thanks for sharing.
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By: Debt Collection Laws on 3/14/2011 3:53AM
Great Information to read, Please share ur opinions.
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By: sara lovelace on 5/19/2011 11:59AM
I used to have problems with harassing phone calls and mail being sent to my house every other day. I felt like I was living in a prison of debt and there was no escape. A friend finally referred me to Stop Debt Collectors . They took care of everything. I was no longer being harassed and life has been looking up ever since.
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