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Freep a Poll! (Fox. Should debt collectors be able to get your cell phone #?)
forxnews.com ^ | 10-4-11 | Fox News

Posted on 10/04/2011 2:50:26 PM PDT by dynachrome

Do you think debt collectors should be given access to your cell phone number? Not sure. Doesn't this open up the whole issue of cell phone privacy? No. Cell phones are meant to be private, not for use by bill collectors and solicitors. Yes. A lot of people use their cells as a home phone, so what's the problem? Other (post a comment).

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Chit/Chat; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: cellphones; debtcollectors; fox; poll
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With caller ID, it's easy to ignore unkown numbers. Bill collectors are pretty scummy many times.
1 posted on 10/04/2011 2:50:34 PM PDT by dynachrome
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To: dynachrome

Not to mention those bill-owers.


2 posted on 10/04/2011 2:53:57 PM PDT by Dutchboy88
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To: 2ndDivisionVet; A knight without armor; Alexander Rubin; all the best; AmericaUnite; ...
Thanks to GopherBroke for this one!

FREEP THIS POLL ***PING!*** FRmail me if you want to be added or removed from the Fearless Poll-Freeping Freepers Ping list. And be sure to ping me to any polls that need Freepin', if I miss them. (looks like a medium volume list) (gordongekko909, founder of the pinglist, stays on the list until his ghost signs up for the list)

3 posted on 10/04/2011 2:53:57 PM PDT by dynachrome ("Our forefathers didn't bury their guns. They buried those that tried to take them.")
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To: dynachrome

If bill collectors call you, it’s possible to stop it by telling them to submit their claims in writing. If they continue to harrass you, they may be picking up the tab through litigation.


4 posted on 10/04/2011 2:56:05 PM PDT by edpc (Former Normalcy Bias Victim)
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To: dynachrome
Shouldn't all debt collection attempts be done by mail so as to have a clearly documented trail of attempts? Or are they allowed to record their conversations with you?

I'm not now in a position where I would worry about dunning but I have been in the past.

I think I would just hang-up if they said the call was recorded. I wouldn't want a record kept that I had no access to and couldn't be assured wasn't altered.

5 posted on 10/04/2011 2:58:08 PM PDT by texanred
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To: dynachrome

Not sure. Doesn’t this open up the whole issue of cell phone privacy? 2.63% (1,554 votes)

No. Cell phones are meant to be private, not for use by bill collectors and solicitors. 79.55% (46,984 votes)

Yes. A lot of people use their cells as a home phone, so what’s the problem? 16.02% (9,462 votes)

Other (post a comment). 1.79% (1,060 votes)

Total Votes: 59,060


6 posted on 10/04/2011 3:06:27 PM PDT by ricmc2175
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To: texanred
I'm not now in a position where I would worry about dunning...

Me either, but I've been getting calls for five years from collectors about debts run up by someone I've never met who had my phone number before she skipped town. Generally, I would feel that if you run up the debt, you owe the money and reasonable collection practices are warranted. But, I'm not happy being collateral damage for the deadbeat I shall call "Nicole."

7 posted on 10/04/2011 3:07:13 PM PDT by Pearls Before Swine
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To: edpc

This is correct
“If bill collectors call you, it’s possible to stop it by telling them to submit their claims in writing. If they continue to harrass you, they may be picking up the tab through litigation.”

of course it requires action by the person owing the debt.

sorry, why why should someone who owes money to the point of it being tuend over to a debt collection agency think they shouldn’t have to address the situation?

Do the 79% who voted against letting debt collectors call cell phones think all debt should be forgiven?
pay up. or make arrangements with the company.99% of companies would rather work with a person than turn a debt over, they lose part of wgat is owed when they do that
it goes several months before it gets to a debt collection agency.

PAY your bills and no one will call.


8 posted on 10/04/2011 3:12:08 PM PDT by RWGinger (Simpl)
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To: texanred

Phone recording is governed by the states of the parties on the phone.
If either the caller or called is in CA,CT,DE,FL,MD,MA,NV,NH,PA,VT,WA,IL
then the recording party must notify all others.

http://www.aapsonline.org/judicial/telephone.htm

I’m not an attorney nor do I play one on FR.

I’ve had a phone number for over 5 years. Bill collectors still call
for the woman who apparently had the phone number before. If you tell one collection agency this fact they either ignore you and keep calling or sell it on to the next collection agency. They are thieves amongst each other. Now I just ignore them.

The current sphincter is violating multiple parts of Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.


9 posted on 10/04/2011 3:12:14 PM PDT by posterchild (I'm old enough to remember when journalists bothered to look things up on wikipedia.)
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To: dynachrome

The issue is that cell phone service providers charge for incoming calls as well as out going calls. If incoming calls were free and didn’t burn minutes I would say it was OK to call cell phones BUT since these calls are NOT free cells phones should be exempt from bill collectors, solicitors and other similar scum ... and for the record I have NO debt


10 posted on 10/04/2011 3:14:27 PM PDT by clamper1797 (Hoping to have some change left)
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To: dynachrome

In a word NO!!

Although I don’t have it on my cell phone, my new home phone has this feature that I can add numbers for it to block, so when those numbers call me, it rings once and then goes away “call blocked”.


11 posted on 10/04/2011 3:15:02 PM PDT by Lucky9teen (Peace is that brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading.~Thomas Jeffer)
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To: Pearls Before Swine
... But, I'm not happy being collateral damage for the deadbeat I shall call "Nicole.

LOL! My business line used to be someone's cell number. I occasionally come in to work and find drunken rambling voice-mails from some man begging for forgiveness for cheating on someone with her sister. Poor schmuck.
12 posted on 10/04/2011 3:19:18 PM PDT by texanred
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To: dynachrome

If you pay your bills on time you won’t have debt collectors calling you so the question is moot...


13 posted on 10/04/2011 3:25:31 PM PDT by tubebender (She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.)
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To: clamper1797

“cell phone service providers charge for incoming calls”

I do a flat rate, so I don’t get extra charges like that.


14 posted on 10/04/2011 3:25:59 PM PDT by dynachrome ("Our forefathers didn't bury their guns. They buried those that tried to take them.")
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To: RWGinger

True, but sometimes there are aggressive 3rd party agencies that cross the line. Unfortunately, I found that out about 20 years ago.


15 posted on 10/04/2011 3:26:47 PM PDT by edpc (Former Normalcy Bias Victim)
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To: RWGinger
sorry, why why should someone who owes money to the point of it being tuend over to a debt collection agency think they shouldn’t have to address the situation?

The people who are current on their payments end up paying a higher interest rate and/or new fees to make up for the deadbeats.

16 posted on 10/04/2011 3:35:52 PM PDT by Menehune56 ("Let them hate so long as they fear" Oderint Dum Metuant), Lucius Accius, (170 BC - 86 BC))
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To: edpc

No question they can be and are relentless
plus they used to get away with threats and curses etc.I am glad laws changed some of the treatment

The other side of the coin is they aren’t calling because one is up to date with payments one promised to make.

How much better it would be if people talked to the originating company, to whom the debt is actually owed.
typically people ignore all letters and phone calls asking for payment until the company has no chice but to turn it over.

What should a company do when it is owed money and gets no response from the person?

this makes it harder for the rest of us too


17 posted on 10/04/2011 3:39:38 PM PDT by RWGinger (Simpl)
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To: edpc

No question they can be and are relentless
plus they used to get away with threats and curses etc.I am glad laws changed some of the treatment

The other side of the coin is they aren’t calling because one is up to date with payments one promised to make.

How much better it would be if people talked to the originating company, to whom the debt is actually owed.
typically people ignore all letters and phone calls asking for payment until the company has no chice but to turn it over.

What should a company do when it is owed money and gets no response from the person?

this makes it harder for the rest of us too


18 posted on 10/04/2011 3:41:18 PM PDT by RWGinger (Simpl)
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To: Pearls Before Swine
I've been getting calls for five years from collectors about debts run up by someone I've never met

You, too, huh. Usually, we don't answer. We keep telling them we don't know the person and to quit calling. They'll stop for a few weeks and then it'll start back up again. Apparently, the dead beat made up a phone number which happened to be ours.

19 posted on 10/04/2011 3:53:28 PM PDT by bgill (There, happy now?)
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To: dynachrome

As long as they pay for the minutes, I suppose. Maybe.


20 posted on 10/04/2011 4:00:15 PM PDT by meyer (We will not sit down and shut up.)
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