Those Harassing Phone Calls

Debt collectors’ phone calls are the most common and annoying symptom of insurmountable debt. You’ve tried reasoning with them - they won’t listen. You’ve asked them to leave you alone - they won’t. You’ve told them that you don’t have the money to pay them this month – they call you the next day. Many people will change their phone numbers; many will simply never answer their phone. The phone rings every five minutes, every day of the week.

If you tell the debt collector that you don’t have the money to pay the debt, what possible reason could they have to call you four minutes later?

Those who had endured the endless phone calls have no doubt asked themselves:

• Can they call me this often?
• Can they be this rude to me?
• Can they really ask me for a post dated check?
• Can they call my family? My employer? My neighbors?

Debt collectors are regulated by both federal and state consumer protection laws that afford consumers the ability to sue and collect money for having to endure the abuses of a debt collector. Generally speaking, collectors are not allowed to conduct themselves in a manner that is meant to abuse or harass. They aren’t allowed to use false threats or interfere with your job as a means to collect a debt. For more information see Creditor Harassment

Stopping the Calls

The absolute best way to shut all the phone calls off is to file bankruptcy. Under § 362 of the Bankruptcy Code, all collection activity has to stop once a bankruptcy is filed. That means all the phone calls have to stop, any pending lawsuits have to be cancelled, any pending garnishments need to come off, in fact, your car loan company isn’t even allowed to send you your monthly statement! The penalties for breaking this law are steep and for the most part all debt collectors and creditors abide by it.  To learn more about bankruptcy  please follow this link.

The second best way to stop the phone calls is to retain a lawyer. Most consumer or bankruptcy lawyers can be initially retained for no money down or for a small fee. Once a debt collector knows that you are represented by any attorney, they can only communicate with your attorney - that means, no more phone calls. And if a debt collector decides to call you, even though they know you have an attorney, they will have violated the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act and can be sued for money damages. For more info, see Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.