Posted on 02/08/2010 10:00:02 AM PST by hsmomx3
My best friend's mother is a 77 year old widow who does seamstress work on her own but in the past, did work for a variety of companies.
This elderly woman, as a result of her business slowing down, became delinquent with her unsecured credit card debt.
She was honest with the creditors and her daughter even spoke to them as well.
What is happening is not only is the bank calling the woman everyday at home and asking her to pay or seek out friends and family for money, but they are calling her past places of employment as well as relatives!
Is this legal?
I was responding to your post about why doesn’t her son help her, unless I misread that, too.
That's what you get for being so snotty. YOU re-read it more slowly.
Then they made a mistake too. Polonius: "Neither a borrower nor a lender be."
but she doesn't have the money to pay it back at this time... so the question is, do they have the right to call employers, past employers and relatives?
Contact a third party about your debt for any purpose other than to locate you.
Identity the debt collection company name to a 3rd party without being expressly asked.
Disclose to a third party a debt is allegedly owed.
Communicate with a single third party more than once.
Communicate or or attempt to communicate with you at inconvenient times or places.
Contact you at work after being told not to.
Communicate with you after receiving a letter from you
(a) with a request they cease and desist all contacts or
(b) that you refuse to pay the debt.
Engage in harassing, oppressive or abusive conduct.
Use or threaten violence or other criminal means, or use obscene or profane language.
Cause your telephone to ring repeatedly or continuously.
Use false, deceptive, or misleading representations or methods, including but not limited to
(a) falsely representing it is affiliated with the United States or any State; (b) falsely representing the character, amount, or legal status of the debt;
(c) falsely representing or implying that nonpayment would result in arrest or imprisonment or the seizure, garnishment, attachment, or sale of property or wages;
(d) threatening to take an action against that cannot be legally taken or that was not actually intended to be taken;
(e) falsely representing or implying that you committed a crime; or
(f) communicating or threatening to communicate false or likely false credit information.
Use unfair or unconscionable means in an attempt to collect a debt, including but not limited to:
(a) trying to collect an amount not expressly authorized by the debt agreement/contract or other applicable law;
(b) threatening to or actually depositing a postdated check prior to the date on such check; or
(c) taking or threatening to take money or property where there was no present right.
Continue to contact you after receiving your cease and desist or request for validation letter.
Force you to pay the debt prior to expiration of your 30 day right to dispute.
Sue you except in the county you signed the contract, you live or own property that is the subject of the debt.
Falsely represent themselves as attorneys.
ALSO, A debt collector MUST (despite what they say):
Provide the notices required by 15 USC § 1692g either in the initial communication with you or in writing within 5 days after.
Notify you in the initial communication it is "an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained would be used for that purpose."
Notify you during each collection contact the communication was from a debt collector
Disclose the caller’s individual identity in every telephone call to you.
Why doesn’t your best friend help out his/her mother?
I’m not suggesting she evade them, nor am I suggesting she not pay her debt. I’m suggesting she not permit them to engage in illegal debt collection practices. Your advice in #6 is accurate, and I pretty much said the same thing. Debt collectors aren’t allowed to call other people and talk to them about your financial situation. If they do, you should report them to the FTC.
My friend has helped but now that the economy has taken a nosedive and my friend will be losing her job in a month, she has to do what she has to do as well.
Her mom was paying her bills and then the economy turned sour and business got a lot slower.
Easy target.
I bet they don’t call the ‘elite’ that don’t pay their taxes
and may be behind on a few other bills.
Sorry, they DO call family and friends. It has been done to me
SEVERAL times by the same company.
They can also call you at work if you are an owner or a principal of the company.
And, unlike some of the ignoramuses on this board claim, you are not required to borrow money from friends, relatives, or even your 401K or IRA (except under certain circumstances) to repay them. A lot of credit card debt is manufactured by the creditors themselves by outlandish interest rates (30% plus), multiple fees and other such gimmicks.
Decent creditors (American Express) will often negotiate low or even no interest rates for a time to get you accelerate their payments.
The financial gurus always say to pay off your higher interest rate debt first. If you are getting near to the point that bankruptcy is your only alternative, this is where you have to do just the opposite.
“Dear Creditor:
In accordance with the Fair Debt Collection Act, please do not contact me by phone, mail, e-mail, or otherwise regarding the above alleged debt.
If you do contact me, I will report your violation of the Fair Debt Collection Act to the appropriate state and federal authorities.
Thank you very much.”
________________________________________
The creditor may contact you by mail. It is NOT a violation of the FDCA.
And if you do take this approach, expect mail from the creditor and their attorney.
“See you in court”.
They seldom sue.
Add this line:
“I dispute the validity of the debt, but even if I did not, I have no means of paying it. I have no money or means to obtain money.”
They won’t bother.
“No. They are legally not allowed to discuss her finances with anyone other than her. She should document names, dates, etc, and report them to the FTC.”
They cannot divulge confedential information, but they absolutely can ask around to find (/indirectly pressure) you.
“I dispute the validity of the debt, but even if I did not, I have no means of paying it. I have no money or means to obtain money.”
They won’t bother.
______________________
They will send you a copy of the note or contract you signed. Validity is proved.
Do you own property? A home? Do you live in a garnishment state? Do you owe them more than $5000?
They will sue.
I doubt it.
Most property is protected (homestead, car, personal effects).
Most states they can’t garnish current wages.
They are businesses. They are not going to waste money on an attorney if they can’t collect it.
They seldom have the original note, to boot.
A debt collector may not contact you at inconvenient times or places, such as before 8 in the morning or after 9 at night, unless you agree to it.
If an attorney is representing you about the debt, the debt collector must contact the attorney, rather than you. If you don’t have an attorney, a collector may contact other people – but only to find out your address, your home phone number, and where you work. Collectors usually are prohibited from contacting third parties more than once. Other than to obtain this location information about you, a debt collector generally is not permitted to discuss your debt with anyone other than you, your spouse, or your attorney.
There's more at the link.
Then in fairness, shouldn't they be able to come confiscate enough of your material wealth to equal what wasn't paid back?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.