How can my mom get creditors to stop bothering her with my dad's credit problems she had nothing to do with?

Question

My mom and dad been divorced for over seven years but gets calls every night from these creditors. The creditors seem to not believe he doesn't live there, thinking her husband to be the one they are looking for. My mom sent cease & desist letters but they are calling again; she thinks the debt was simply sold. She cannot keep paying $$$ to send registered mail to these creditors when they can simply keep selling the debts. I'm also not in contact with my dad though he's asked for money in the past, so no help there.

Answer 1

I agree that your mom should order her credit reports and dispute any outdated info in the personal information section and look over the reports for anything listed that is not hers or is reporting incorrectly.

The bad thing is that her name is more than likely on your dads credit reports, that is how they are getting her information.

The cease and desist (C&D) letter she had written to one collector should have been included with the file if it was sold to another collector.

I would suggest that she send another C&D to the new collector and make a statement in it that she had sent a C&D to [collector name] on xx/xx/xxxx. That she is again requesting that they C&D any and all contact with her. That if [current collector name] sells or transfers the account, the current C&D MUST be included with the account file.

After she receives the green card back, I would recommend that she file complaints on the collector that she had sent the first C&D and the new collector with the BBB, FTC, her Attorney General and both collectors Attorneys General.
I would suggest that she include copies of the signed certified green cards from mailing both C&D's, copies of the C&D letters she had sent, any letters the collectors may have sent to her, to the AG's and the FTC.

Be sure that she keeps everything well documented.

If they continue to contact her after receiving the C&D and after her complaints, or sell the account and the new collector starts to harrass her, she should take all of her documentation to a "consumer credit" lawyer.

If she has a well documented papertrail of the violations and her attempts to make them stop, including the filed complaints, the lawyer may take her case on a contingency basis.
Many lawyers will give a free first consult, so be sure to have her ask when/if she contacts one (and be sure it is a "consumer credit" lawyer)
She would have them on FDCPA violations plus violations of any state statutes.

Keep in mind that the collector is allowed ONE call after receiving a C&D, but that call "must not" be for collection purposes. It should only be for them to tell her they will never contact her again (if they do call)

edited to add:
If she has caller ID, she should take a pictures of the phone numbers and dates if they continue to call.
She might include in her C&D that she is giving formal notice that she will be recording any future telephone contacts they may make (some states will allow a person to tape without telling the other party, some don't. Since I don't know what state you are in, it would be better to be safe and inform them)
If she doesn't have a recorder she might think about picking one up or seeing if any of her friends have one that she might borrow for awhile.

Answer 2

Your mom needs to pull her credit reports and look them over for any unusual activity! She should make sure that only accounts that are hers are on it! Those creditors are finding your mom for a reason and I hope it isn't because your dad has opened accounts in both their names again.

Go to my website and read it. I went through an ID theft and bankruptcy and still recovered from that. I got my score up from 486 to 729 in a little over a year!

The reason I mention my website is because of the identity theft issue and how to protect yourself! You don't want to go through this and your mom should consider getting a credit monitoring service so she can watch her credit.

Equifax 3 in 1 is a good one and has the most accurate info.

Answer 3

i would either get caller id and if you don't recognize the # then don't answer it.

Don't waste any more time sending them anything!! If they've been divorced for seven years and your mom is not on any of the bills they are coming after her for then don't send them anything, your not obligated too, you could honelty say kiss my @ss to them and there is nothing they could do, eventually they will get the point and they will stop calling.

Answer 4

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