Fighting off Debt Collectors

Debt collection with dignity.

In this uncertain economy many people find themselves in a position they never thought they would be in…behind on payments.

My husband is a victim of identity theft so we have spent many years, tons of hours and lots of words on the phone with debt collectors explaining to them that the debt is not ours.

The interesting part is that by-in-large most of the collectors said to us ‘why don’t you just pay it and then
you can be done with it.’ 

I don’t know about you but I am not overly fond of paying off other people’s debts ESPECIALLY when the person is committing a felony act by using my credit!

I recently have had the unfortunate opportunity to get a new phone number that belonged to someone who had many debt collectors after them. 

With a common name like Garcia we also get every call from anyone ever named Garcia who might be in collections wondering if we are related to them.

I found this article in Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Magazine in September regarding how to deal with debt collectors. I have added some of my own experiences to help you navigate the calls. I hope you find it helpful if you end up in a debt collection situation whether it is of your own doing or not.

First off, whether you actually owe the debt or not, you have rights.

There are different types of collectors.

The first line of collection is usually the creditor themselves.  The money is owed directly to them and they are trying to collect it.

The other type of call might be a third-party collection agency.  This could be a debt collection service or in our case there is an attorney’s office in Chicago that once a year tries to collect on the thousands of dollars of parking tickets the identity thief runs up each year. 

With this collector in particular I repeat myself on the phone about the identity theft and then I fax them 54 pages of documentation from police reports right down the the fact that Rich was given a new social security number.  That usually stops them for 12 months until the next round of unpaid tickets hits.

When the creditor first calls they usually ask for the debtor by name.  I ask them who they are by name and where they are calling from.  If they won’t give me any information then I just tell them I can’t help them and I politely hang up. After a couple of times they begin to get the message that they really need to just give me the basics about what they want.

I can then tell them accurately if I can help them. This works best when they call on my phone number that is associated with the other person. I just explain that I was given this number and that I don’t even know who she is.

We recently recieved one of the ‘Is ???? Garcia there.’ I respond with there is no one by that name that lives here. When they asked if we were related to this person I respond with ‘I have no idea as there are probably thousands of people in the world with that name. You will need to give me more details to figure that out. ‘Of course they can’t give me details so I tell them they won’t find that person in particular at this number. I also asked them to remove me from their calling list since that person does not live here. We will see how well that works long term.

Debt collectors are not allowed to harrass you or be abusive to you according to the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.  Unfortunatley that only protects you from the third-part debt collectors, not the creditors themselves.  You can visit www.privacyrights.org for more details.

The first place to start is the facts. In their first letter they are required to give you the name of the creditor, and the amount of the initial debt, breakdown of penalties and interest and an explanation of your rights. If the first contact is by phone remind them that they are required to give you the information in writing within 5 days. I personally make them spell their name, the agency they are calling from and I write down their phone number and the date and time they called.  One debt collection agency called asking us to pay a $20,000 debt. When we asked what the debt was for they said they couldn’t tell as they were about the third debt collection agency that purchased the debt. When we asked the original amount of the debt they said around $600.  At that point in time I recommended they get more information before they tried to collect on that debt but that either way, it wasn’t ours.

Set the record straight.  If you don’t recognize the debt. Tell them so.  Make them prove the debt exists and why they think it is yours. When we pulled our credit report during this identity theft time we found that there was a collection placed on the credit report for a place in Klamath Falls. We called it up and found out that they rent RV’s. They gave us the details of the collection. As it turns out they had someone with a similar name and since this person could not be located they just ‘put it on our credit report.’  Seemed like an interesting concept, you didn’t get enough information when you rented the RV so you just assigned the debt to the closest R Garcia to the location. We, of course, disputed that and it was removed from our credit report.

When disputing anything be sure to send your documentation certified, return receipt requested.

Collections agencies are prohibited from calling you between 9pm and 8am. They are also not allowed to use threatening and abusive language.  If you don’t want to be called or contacted in the future at all, just write the agency and say so. They may contact you one more time telling you how it will proceed.  If you have an attorney call, the creditor is allowed to talk only to the attorney in the future. Feel free to hang up on anyone that is threatening or abusive. I try to remember that they are just people trying to earn a living but I have to admit…sometimes that is very challenging! 

If you continue to have problems you can feel free to complain to the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov).  It probably won’t help your case but it will cause the offending parties to come under scrutiny by the authorities.

And lastly, you can always sue them.  If the collection agency does not follow the federal law you can collect up to $1000 in statutory damages, plus real damages and attorney’s fees.  To find a lawyer in your area you can log onto www.naca.net.

These are tough economic times for everyone.  It is more important than ever to keep a close eye on your credit. If you have more questions just send me an email or give me a call and I will get you hooked up with the right person to help you.  Just remember, they need to prove it and if it isn’t your debt, don’t pay it!