collection agencies suck

[JohnCU]

Some guy just called and he was on the phone with my mom (he was from a collection agency) saying she was going to be sued if she didn't pay her settlement right now and that he'd send a policeman to come get her. I told him he was full of shit and his scare tactics were bullshit. He wouldn't give me his number to call, or his manager's name. He hung up and said they'd be garnishing her wages. (This was for an old credit card account). The son of a bitch sounded like he was at a ball game from the background noise, what a piece of shit, he scared my mom half to death.

What should I do?

 

[Crono]

Investigate the collection agency.
Talk to lawyer if necessary.
In meantime, block caller.

 

[Q]

That's weird

 

[Away]

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pub...umer/credit/cre18.shtm

Good general info for you.

 

[Q]

Originally posted by: Away
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pub...umer/credit/cre18.shtm

Good general info for you.

Good link :thumbsup:

 

[Q]

What practices are off limits for debt collectors?

Harassment. Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse you or any third parties they contact. For example, they may not:

* use threats of violence or harm;
* publish a list of names of people who refuse to pay their debts (but they can give this information to the credit reporting companies);
* use obscene or profane language; or
* repeatedly use the phone to annoy someone.

False statements. Debt collectors may not lie when they are trying to collect a debt. For example, they may not:

* falsely claim that they are attorneys or government representatives;
* falsely claim that you have committed a crime;
* falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit reporting company;
* misrepresent the amount you owe;
* indicate that papers they send you are legal forms if they aren?t; or
* indicate that papers they send to you aren?t legal forms if they are.

Debt collectors also are prohibited from saying that:

* you will be arrested if you don?t pay your debt;
* they?ll seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages unless they are permitted by law to take the action and intend to do so; or
* legal action will be taken against you, if doing so would be illegal or if they don?t intend to take the action.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Originally posted by: Crono
Investigate the collection agency.
Talk to lawyer if necessary.
In meantime, block caller.

Yeah, this should work out pretty well.

 

[Titan]

I didn't pay a directTV bill because it was in my name but not my responsibility, long story.

Anyways, over year later, shitty collections company called Allied Interstate gets the debt and tries to collect.

My GF was home when they called. All it was was a creepy high-pitched female voice on a recording saying "You will Die-ie...." yeah I was pissed, had to go home from work and yell at them. Was tempted to sue. Go ahead, trash my credit. Death threats are not OK.

 

[JohnCU]

Originally posted by: Quintox

What practices are off limits for debt collectors?

Harassment. Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse you or any third parties they contact. For example, they may not:

* use threats of violence or harm;
* publish a list of names of people who refuse to pay their debts (but they can give this information to the credit reporting companies);
* use obscene or profane language; or
* repeatedly use the phone to annoy someone.

False statements. Debt collectors may not lie when they are trying to collect a debt. For example, they may not:

* falsely claim that they are attorneys or government representatives;
* falsely claim that you have committed a crime;
* falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit reporting company;
* misrepresent the amount you owe;
* indicate that papers they send you are legal forms if they aren?t; or
* indicate that papers they send to you aren?t legal forms if they are.

Debt collectors also are prohibited from saying that:

* you will be arrested if you don?t pay your debt;
* they?ll seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages unless they are permitted by law to take the action and intend to do so; or
* legal action will be taken against you, if doing so would be illegal or if they don?t intend to take the action.

thanks. i called the head company and spoke to someone much nicer.

 

[kami333]

Originally posted by: Titan
I didn't pay a directTV bill because it was in my name but not my responsibility, long story.

Anyways, over year later, shitty collections company called Allied Interstate gets the debt and tries to collect.

My GF was home when they called. All it was was a creepy high-pitched female voice on a recording saying "You will Die-ie...." yeah I was pissed, had to go home from work and yell at them. Was tempted to sue. Go ahead, trash my credit. Death threats are not OK.

You should have. Would have been an easy $1000.

 

[Delta6Echo]

Originally posted by: JohnCU

Originally posted by: Quintox

What practices are off limits for debt collectors?

Harassment. Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse you or any third parties they contact. For example, they may not:

* use threats of violence or harm;
* publish a list of names of people who refuse to pay their debts (but they can give this information to the credit reporting companies);
* use obscene or profane language; or
* repeatedly use the phone to annoy someone.

False statements. Debt collectors may not lie when they are trying to collect a debt. For example, they may not:

* falsely claim that they are attorneys or government representatives;
* falsely claim that you have committed a crime;
* falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit reporting company;
* misrepresent the amount you owe;
* indicate that papers they send you are legal forms if they aren?t; or
* indicate that papers they send to you aren?t legal forms if they are.

Debt collectors also are prohibited from saying that:

* you will be arrested if you don?t pay your debt;
* they?ll seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages unless they are permitted by law to take the action and intend to do so; or
* legal action will be taken against you, if doing so would be illegal or if they don?t intend to take the action.

thanks. i called the head company and spoke to someone much nicer.

The fact that you need someone at ATOT to tell you your rights is pretty sad. How old are you?

 

[lokiju]

Originally posted by: Titan
I didn't pay a directTV bill because it was in my name but not my responsibility, long story.

Anyways, over year later, shitty collections company called Allied Interstate gets the debt and tries to collect.

My GF was home when they called. All it was was a creepy high-pitched female voice on a recording saying "You will Die-ie...." yeah I was pissed, had to go home from work and yell at them. Was tempted to sue. Go ahead, trash my credit. Death threats are not OK.

You know we had some shit happen with DirecTv also after canceling service. We sent the boxes back and they agreed to way our early term fee since we were moving to a place that did not allow dishes.

Then months later we get some ass hold collection person calling up and being a total asshole right off the bate saying we had to pay the debt "or else". He continued to threaten to report it on our credit report and was being very unreasonable.

I went round and round and round for nearly 2 hours with this asshole, his supervisor and manager and all were the same way so I said screw it and looked up the corporate number to DirecTV, got the VP's number and explained in a calm manner what had happened. He was very apologetic and took care of the debt we did not owe.

I will never again use DirecTv because of that bullshit.

 

[K1052]

Yep, that kind of bullshit happens all the time. They must manage to scare a lot of people into paying.

A friend of mine got a similar call out of the blue and ended up paying $800 of a several thousand dollar 10 year old debt over the phone and setting up a payment plan.

I made him call them back and imply that he had conferred with his attorney and that if the money wasn't immediately refunded that a complaint would be filed with the sate attorney general, a police report would be filed detailing their attempts at extortion, and should they continue contacting him they would be sued for violation of the FDCPA. They were never heard from again.

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: JohnCU
that he'd send a policeman to come get her.

Illegal.

He hung up and said they'd be garnishing her wages.

Scare tactic, possibly illegal as well.

Tell your mom to get a device to record her calls. You can take these guys to small claims and win thousands for every violation.

I've heard of people who used their recordings of collections violations to cut their settlement down to cents on the dollar. It's a great negotiating tool when you have evidence of them violating federal law.

When your family get ready to settle the debt, here are a few things to remember:

GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING ***FIRST***.

NEVER GIVE THEM ANY ACCOUNT NUMBERS; PAY WITH CHECK OR MONEY ORDER.

WHEN SENDING MAIL, ALWAYS SEND IT CERTIFIED WITH PROOF OF DELIVERY.

Credit collections agencies are rife with federal law violations. They are pure scum who use psychology to accomplish one thing: get as much of your money as possible. A good rule of thumb is to pretend you're dealing with criminals, and use every precaution to protect yourself from them.

 

[olds]

Does your mom have caller ID?

 

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: lokiju

Originally posted by: Titan
I didn't pay a directTV bill because it was in my name but not my responsibility, long story.

Anyways, over year later, shitty collections company called Allied Interstate gets the debt and tries to collect.

My GF was home when they called. All it was was a creepy high-pitched female voice on a recording saying "You will Die-ie...." yeah I was pissed, had to go home from work and yell at them. Was tempted to sue. Go ahead, trash my credit. Death threats are not OK.

You know we had some shit happen with DirecTv also after canceling service. We sent the boxes back and they agreed to way our early term fee since we were moving to a place that did not allow dishes.

Then months later we get some ass hold collection person calling up and being a total asshole right off the bate saying we had to pay the debt "or else". He continued to threaten to report it on our credit report and was being very unreasonable.

I went round and round and round for nearly 2 hours with this asshole, his supervisor and manager and all were the same way so I said screw it and looked up the corporate number to DirecTV, got the VP's number and explained in a calm manner what had happened. He was very apologetic and took care of the debt we did not owe.

I will never again use DirecTv because of that bullshit.

Wow, did your keyboard die while typing that?

 

[lupi]

That's simple. Take his name and company info and instruct him that he or his company is never allowed to attempt a phonecall again.

This requires them to do everything by traceable paperwork and if they do call you can sue.

Originally posted by: K1052
Yep, that kind of bullshit happens all the time. They must manage to scare a lot of people into paying.

A friend of mine got a similar call out of the blue and ended up paying $800 of a several thousand dollar 10 year old debt over the phone and setting up a payment plan.

I made him call them back and imply that he had conferred with his attorney and that if the money wasn't immediately refunded that a complaint would be filed with the sate attorney general, a police report would be filed detailing their attempts at extortion, and should they continue contacting him they would be sued for violation of the FDCPA. They were never heard from again.

Ouch, yeah that was a bad idea. You can quickly screw yourself by paying without a prewritten contract and in this case you could cause what is otherwise a debt that is most likely long past its statute of limitation to become a current debt again.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Originally posted by: jpeyton

Originally posted by: JohnCU
that he'd send a policeman to come get her.

Illegal.

He hung up and said they'd be garnishing her wages.

Scare tactic, possibly illegal as well.

Tell your mom to get a device to record her calls. You can take these guys to small claims and win thousands for every violation.

I've heard of people who used their recordings of collections violations to cut their settlement down to cents on the dollar. It's a great negotiating tool when you have evidence of them violating federal law.

When your family get ready to settle the debt, here are a few things to remember:

GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING ***FIRST***.

NEVER GIVE THEM ANY ACCOUNT NUMBERS; PAY WITH CHECK OR MONEY ORDER.

WHEN SENDING MAIL, ALWAYS SEND IT CERTIFIED WITH PROOF OF DELIVERY.

Credit collections agencies are rife with federal law violations. They are pure scum who use psychology to accomplish one thing: get as much of your money as possible. A good rule of thumb is to pretend you're dealing with criminals, and use every precaution to protect yourself from them.

Never EVER EVER pay with a check or anything attached to your accounts. Always use a certified bank check or money order.
If you use a check, they will have your checking account number AND routing number. All the info they need to set up automatic withdrawls from your account.
Always do all of your business with them through the mail, so you have evidence of any settlement offers ect.
Also check your state laws regarding collection agency activity. In some states, Texas for example, they can not garnish your wages and you can not be arrested for any reason for not paying a bill. They can not say they will sue you unless they already have the process in effect.
I've had 1 bad experience with a collection agency that was trying to collect on a $200 phone bill. One tactic you can use is to call the original creditor\company you had the bill with and offer to pay them. Insist that they make a record of the attempt to pay and get a incident #. Then dispute the charge by stating that you attempted to pay the bill to the creditor and they refused payment. Give the incident number in your dispute.

 

[Darthvoy]

Originally posted by: JohnCU
Some guy just called and he was on the phone with my mom (he was from a collection agency) saying she was going to be sued if she didn't pay her settlement right now and that he'd send a policeman to come get her. I told him he was full of shit and his scare tactics were bullshit. He wouldn't give me his number to call, or his manager's name. He hung up and said they'd be garnishing her wages. (This was for an old credit card account). The son of a bitch sounded like he was at a ball game from the background noise, what a piece of shit, he scared my mom half to death.

What should I do?

that is super illegal! Did you happen to get the number from where he called? They can not threaten you like that. I would call them back and tell them you are going to report them...they will shut up right away. I had friend who went bankrupt and he told they did the same thing to him. Luckily, he knew the law and threatened to report them. The collection agency backed away immediately.

 

[MrDudeMan]

Originally posted by: Delta6Echo

Originally posted by: JohnCU

Originally posted by: Quintox

What practices are off limits for debt collectors?

Harassment. Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse you or any third parties they contact. For example, they may not:

* use threats of violence or harm;
* publish a list of names of people who refuse to pay their debts (but they can give this information to the credit reporting companies);
* use obscene or profane language; or
* repeatedly use the phone to annoy someone.

False statements. Debt collectors may not lie when they are trying to collect a debt. For example, they may not:

* falsely claim that they are attorneys or government representatives;
* falsely claim that you have committed a crime;
* falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit reporting company;
* misrepresent the amount you owe;
* indicate that papers they send you are legal forms if they aren?t; or
* indicate that papers they send to you aren?t legal forms if they are.

Debt collectors also are prohibited from saying that:

* you will be arrested if you don?t pay your debt;
* they?ll seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages unless they are permitted by law to take the action and intend to do so; or
* legal action will be taken against you, if doing so would be illegal or if they don?t intend to take the action.

thanks. i called the head company and spoke to someone much nicer.

The fact that you need someone at ATOT to tell you your rights is pretty sad. How old are you?

Excellent contribution to this thread. I'm sure you've memorized all of your rights so you can be an arrogant idiot like this.

 

[Reckoner]

PM codename47 on fatwallet. That guy knows how to deal with these jerks.

Example

 

[jtvang125]

Your mom has such a sexy voice. I'm definitely going to call her back after hours.

 

[sactoking]

Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski
Never EVER EVER pay with a check or anything attached to your accounts. Always use a certified bank check or money order.
If you use a check, they will have your checking account number AND routing number. All the info they need to set up automatic withdrawls from your account.

If you're feeling frisky, you can set up a new checking account and pay in the hopes that they DO set up automatic withdrawals. Hello wire fraud city. Hello FBI.

 

[QueBert]

Originally posted by: MrDudeMan

Originally posted by: Delta6Echo

Originally posted by: JohnCU

Originally posted by: Quintox

What practices are off limits for debt collectors?

Harassment. Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse you or any third parties they contact. For example, they may not:

* use threats of violence or harm;
* publish a list of names of people who refuse to pay their debts (but they can give this information to the credit reporting companies);
* use obscene or profane language; or
* repeatedly use the phone to annoy someone.

False statements. Debt collectors may not lie when they are trying to collect a debt. For example, they may not:

* falsely claim that they are attorneys or government representatives;
* falsely claim that you have committed a crime;
* falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit reporting company;
* misrepresent the amount you owe;
* indicate that papers they send you are legal forms if they aren?t; or
* indicate that papers they send to you aren?t legal forms if they are.

Debt collectors also are prohibited from saying that:

* you will be arrested if you don?t pay your debt;
* they?ll seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages unless they are permitted by law to take the action and intend to do so; or
* legal action will be taken against you, if doing so would be illegal or if they don?t intend to take the action.

thanks. i called the head company and spoke to someone much nicer.

The fact that you need someone at ATOT to tell you your rights is pretty sad. How old are you?

Excellent contribution to this thread. I'm sure you've memorized all of your rights so you can be an arrogant idiot like this.

ATOTers don't even need to memorize anything, everything is common sense to them. The average ATOTer has the most fucking amazing abilities ever when it comes to common sense. The majority of ATOTers would laugh at you for memorizing something you should just know due to "common sense"

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: JohnCU
What should I do?

have your mom pay her bills