Comments on: How to Stop a Debt Collector from Calling or Contacting You

By: m solomon

m solomon — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 23:48:48 +0000

Creditors are calling me on my cell to speak to someone with my ladt name how do i stop this?

By: Rachelle Holloway

Rachelle Holloway — Tue, 18 May 2010 12:06:57 +0000

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By: terry

terry — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 21:54:42 +0000

They called here today, but wouldn’t tell me who said I owed them money.
I googled them, and it appears they are a giant fraud.
So, I called them back, and told them that all contact must be in writing, by mail.
That way I have something to take to the District Attorney.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 20:30:29 +0000

I am wondering if anyone knows how to stop debt collectors from calling me and pursuing collection for bills that are over two years old, credit card debt under $1000 each. My situation is that I am now disabled, unemployed, in the process of appealing the Social Security Disability decision, which will take two years or longer. It is impossible to stop these calls, from 8 AM to 8 PM, my home, my boyfriend’s cell, my cell (which I have changed numbers more than once,) and I have explained that I am not going to be able to pay these bills, ever. I may have to file bankruptcy. They are causing me distress, anxiety, PTSD episodes, and I can’t cope with them. Many use a telephone number exchange service NANPA which supplies information about individuals and protects debt collectors. They can receive information about the number I am calling from, even when I block the number. I am on the Nat’l Do Not Call Reistry, which apparently doesn’t apply to debt collection callers. Sometimes I receive 20 calls per day, every 5 or 10 minutes someone calls. They have no shame, they want money that I cannot supply as I do not even have bus fare, only food stamps, and am lucky to be sleeping indoors. Borrowing is not an option. The amounts of money owed by me are relatively nominal, the debt is my fault, it is true, mea culpa, mea culpa, but I did not plan on becoming disabled, unable to even shower or dress without help. How to make this stop? These people are horrid, I would rather scrub toilets than be a debt collector, they are abusive, rude and will not stop. I keep my telephone turned off because it is so bad. Advice from anyone who has had success in stopping this madness? Thank you, especially for allowing me to complain so much.

By: Prescott

Prescott — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 20:44:42 +0000

Initial Debt Collection Dispute Letter

Today’s Date

Your Name
Your Address

Collector’s Name
Collector’s Address

Dear {insert name of collector or company},

I am writing in response to your (letter or phone call) dated {insert date}, (copy enclosed) because I do not believe I owe what you say I owe.

This is the first I’ve heard from you, or any other company on this matter therefore, in accordance with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Section 809(b): Validating Debts:

(b) If the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period described in subsection (a) that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, or that the consumer requests the name and address of the original creditor, the debt collector shall cease collection of the debt, or any disputed portion thereof, until the debt collector obtains verification of the debt or any copy of a judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor, and a copy of such verification or judgment, or name and address of the original creditor, is mailed to the consumer by the debt collector.

I respectfully request that you provide me with the following information:

(1) the amount of the debt;
(2) the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed;
(3) Provide a verification or copy of any judgment (if applicable);
(4) Proof that you are licensed to collect debts in (insert name of your state)
Be advised that I am fully aware of my rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. For instance, I know that:

because I have disputed this debt in writing within 30 days of receipt of your dunning notice, you must obtain verification of the debt or a copy of the judgment against me and mail these items to me at your expense;
you cannot add interest or fees except those allowed by the original contract or state law.
you do not have to respond to this dispute but if you do, any attempt to collect this debt without validating it, violates the FDCPA;
Also be advised that I am keeping very accurate records of all correspondence from you and your company including recording all phone calls and I will not hesitate to report violations of the law to my State Attorney General, the Federal Trade Commission and the Better Business Bureau.

I have disputed this debt; therefore, until validated you know your information concerning this debt is inaccurate. Thus, if you have already reported this debt to any credit-reporting agency (CRA) or Credit Bureau (CB) then, you must immediately inform them of my dispute with this debt. Reporting information that you know to be inaccurate or failing to report information correctly violates the Fair Credit Reporting Act § 1681s-2. Should you pursue a judgment without validating this debt, I will inform the judge and request the case be dismissed based on your failure to comply with the FDCPA.

Finally, if you do not own this debt, I demand that you immediately send a copy of this dispute letter to the original creditor so they are also aware of my dispute with this debt.

Signature here
Your Printed Name

By: jm

jm — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 20:20:19 +0000

You would think that, and in theory, that is probably true, but its hard to send a letter to someone requesting they stop contacting you when they won’t tell you where to send it because you aren’t the one they are trying to collect a debt from. Every time I tried to get that information, they would just hang up on me.

By: DR

DR — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 02:10:36 +0000

Thanks, jm. I suspect that if you wrote a letter to the debt collector instructing them not to call your number (even if you didn’t owe the debt), that they would be required to honor the request.

By: jm

jm — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:17:01 +0000

This really makes me mad. I was once harassed by a debt collector because I moved into a new apartment and got a landline with a number recycled from some deadbeat. They would call me every single day asking for some guy I had never heard of before. I’ve also been harassed by people trying to collect debts from relatives.

Good luck with this. In my cases, there was little I could do under the FDCPA because it wasn’t my alleged debt. I would also give you the suggestion to start keeping a log of all of your interactions with the collector.

I hope you see a nice $1000 payout in your future!

By: Mrs. Micah

Mrs. Micah — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 23:40:49 +0000

“Phone police” I love it.