hot to stop a creditor from calling constantly?

Question

my husband had a credit card that went into collections. i had made a payment of 65.00 which was the total amount past due but it had already been sent to collections without me knowing and of course they still took the 65 dollars. well i talked to the collection agency and they agreed to settle however i had to pay the total amount at that time. i told them i could pay the full amount and they refused to break up that payments. i told them that when my finacial situation changed i would contact them to pay the bill and hung up without hearing what they had to say. two secs later they called back. i have refused to answer the phone when they call. is there anything i can do stop these annoying phone calls. i would like to pay it off however i feel i have been treated unfairly. what do you think? and what can i do to stop these calls

Answer 1

I would never suggest sending a collector a full cease & desist unless a person is "past" the collecting SOL for their state and the full cease & desist is either in a SOL letter or attached to it.

When a collector receives a full C&D, by law they can contact you "one" more time. But that contact "cannot" be for collection purposes. They can only contact you to inform you what they plan on doing with the account - sell it, stop collections or sue you.

You can send a "limited" C&D where they would legally only be able to contact you in writing --

I am requesting no phone calls be made by you to my home or place of business as it is inconvenient to me. All future correspondence must be made in writing and sent to the address noted in this letter by the USPS.


You should never speak to a collector by phone. Do all of the correspondence by mail.
Send everything to a collector by certified mail return receipt.
Never sign anything you send to a collector, type your name or print your initials.

If your name was not on the account, your husband should send them a debt validation letter and include the limited C&D that I posted above.

By law, the collector should have sent something in writing concerning the debt 5 days after their phone call (though they usually don't)
If it has been less than 30 days from the "first" time your husband has heard from them and your husband requests validation within that 30 days, they must cease ALL collections until they provide proper validation. Ceasing all collections includes placing it on credit reports, verifying with the CRA's if your husband disputes the tradelines and filing suit

You should check the collecting SOL for your state to see where your husband stands on that.

If/when the collector provides proper validation, and your husband is still within SOL or is out of SOL but wants to pay, he should send them a letter requesting to pay a reduced amount, requesting that they consider the amount as "payment in full" and that they will remove anything they have placed on his reports.

If he is past the collecting SOL, he has a legal right to send them a SOL letter informing them that the account is no longer legally collectible.

You might click on my profile and do some reading in the links I have listed for the FDCPA, etc.

Answer 2

What most people don't know is that what they are doing is harrassment, however you can order these companies to cease contacting you by mail or by phone and by law they have to comply, There's a subsection in the Fair Credit Reporting act that most people are unaware of YOU DO HAVE RIGHTS. After they receive the letter from you they are obligated to send you one last letter stating that this will be their final attempt to collect on a debt owed. I had creditors calling me constantly so I turned my debt over to a debt consolidation company and paid it thru them, the first thing they had me do was contact all my creditors and send out a form letter telling them to stop contacting me via phone or US mail, the calls ceased. Trouble is most people don't know that what they are doing is being harrassed and the creditors call constantly to scare you into paying. If they dont' get a response then they will turn the debt over to a collection agency, the agency will then attempt to contact you to settle a debt, if they cannot reach you then they usually will turn it back over to the credit card company as a write off. Collection agencies get a percentage of everything they collect so it's in their best interest to force you to pay.

Answer 3

". i would like to pay it off however i feel i have been treated unfairly. what do you think?"

Someone wants you to live up to a contract and you think they are being unfair?

Write a letter and send it certified return receipt requested and tell them any further communication should be in writing only.

Some times this ticks them off and they go to court much sooner.

Added
Do some of you even read the posts before answering the poster said that was the PAST DUE amount not the total balance due

Added
Sorry Gem you do NOT send checks to collection agencies, use money orders or cashiers checks!

Answer 4

You're already taking the right approach. If you have made arrangements, and you continue to honor your obligations under those arrangements, they should stop calling.

If they do not, calmly advise them that if they do not stop the harrassing phone calls your payments WILL stop. The interests of the creditor and the collection agency are not well served by harrassing people who honestly want to make good on their debt. Unfortunately, they have these collectors who ar paid commissions on the amounts they collect. Hence the harrassing phone calls.

If you have made arrangements, and are making your payments and they're still calling, SIMPLE.....CHANGE YOUR PHONE NUMBER!!!

Changing your phone number costs nothing. Advise those who you want to speak with of your new number.

Answer 5

A cease and desist letter by law should stop them from calling you. Or if you had retained a law firm to negotiate on your debt, third party collectors by law must deal with the firm. However we are talking about debt collectors here and many of them show little discretion for the law and will try and call you anyway.

Whatever you do stop speaking with them you are only going to be hurting yourself, the more you say to them about your situation the more ammo you are giving them. You should rent "maxed out" a documentary about the consumer debt problem, but they interview collectors and you can see just how these people really act.

You could try changing your number, because in reality if they really want to persist and continue to call they will.

Answer 6

I would just ask them not to call. We have a number that I have had for over 10 years (since before the area code changed, so I'm the only one who's ever had this number...I moved it from my last home) and some debt collectors have attached it to the address and people who lived here years ago and they call and harrass us. Oh..and a couple of people who have similar names, also. They can't do that though. Tell them to stop.

Answer 7

Next time they call, get the companys name and address and then write them a letter asking them to stop calling. They have to by law to stop once you ask them to. Then Keep a piece of paper next to the phone and write down every time they do call after. The probley will not. Threaten them that you are getting a lawyer.
But if they sell it to another agency you will have to do the same thing with them

Answer 8

Don't answer the call for a few days, then disguise your voice and pick up the phone and say, "sorry they no longer have this number, don't call for them at this number again".

If they ask you for your name or info, just refuse to give it. Tell them it is your phone and your privacy rights and that would be none of their business.

Meanwhile, if you intend to pay, start sending payments (checks only), they will either cash them, or send them back. If they cash them and they take you to court it will at least show the court you were trying. If they send them back, keep the entire envelope they come in and show the judge you were trying to pay and they refused your money.

good luck

Answer 9

If you paid the credit card company they have an obligation to tell the credit company that you account is no longer in arrears. I would call them.

Answer 10

Be like thanks for your help but no thank you and please stop calling because you feel there is no help coming from them and that you would find a way to get other help and hang up on them again.