Nah, just flash this picture in his face...
Posted on 02/17/2006 10:29:57 AM PST by TXBSAFH
Last year, zombie debt collectors bought $75 billion in old debt. Now, they are trying to get people to pay up. But the truth is, it may be a debt you never owed or no longer need to pay.
The zombie nightmare began for Pamela Stokely with this phone call from a debt collector saying she owed money:
"We've been trying to get in contact with you. You haven't been responding to any of our phone calls. It is imperative that you return our phone call as soon as possible. I believe it is in your best interest to return this call as soon as possible."
"These people were telling me if I don't pay like $4,000 to $5,000, they were going to put this debt back on my credit report showing that it was never paid. And it's like, OK, how can they do this?" Stokely wondered.
They do this because they're zombie debt collectors, companies that specialize in going after old or bad debt, usually by intimidating consumers. They were after Stokely for a delinquent car loan that she ultimately had paid in full.
"There was a judgment and it was paid off back in -- I think the final payment was in 1999," Stokely said.
Often the phone calls are so harassing that the consumer feels threatened.
Consumer attorney Sonya Smith-Valentine said that zombie debt collectors might not check the validity of the debt. They just start making phone calls.
"They're the debt collectors that go out and buy debt that is 10-year old, or debt that has been discharged in bankruptcy, or debt that might not even belong to the person who they think they're trying to collect from," Smith-Valentine said.
"I've been authorized to process file #784," one phone call said.
Consumer advocates say the zombie's goal is often to get people to pay just to stop their harassment, and it can be a very lucrative goal.
"Let's say somebody has a $100 debt. Well, they start harassing that person, and if that person pays that $100, they've made a profit of $98.98," Smith-Valentine said.
To get you to pay up, zombie debt collectors do things like threaten to sue, threaten to have you arrested, try to get you to accept a bait-and-switch credit card which has the old debt secretly tacked on or promise to clear an old debt from your credit report for a token payment, which, in fact, can reactivate that debt.
They often threaten these things because most consumers don't know that they can't do it.
Consumer advocates say if a zombie debt collector stalks you, you should learn about your rights and know the statute of limitations, which is usually seven years. Write the collection agency and demand that it stop contacting you. Also, you should keep an eye on your credit report.
The Consumer Alert bottom line is that you should know your rights:
Debt collectors may not call you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
They may not contact you at work if they know your employer disapproves.
They may not harass or abuse you and they cannot lie.
They must stop contacting you if you ask them to do so in writing.
If you think a debt collector has violated your rights, complain to your state's attorney general's office.
The consumer attorney also said that if a zombie debt collector violates your rights, you can sue them, and if you win, the judge may order the debt collector to pay your attorney's fees.
Have you ever used Formula 410?
Of course not. No one who has tried to use Formula 410 has ever survived. Formula 409 is as far as we can safely go.
What's in file #784?
The answer is too terrifying to contemplate.
Agreed.
Nah, just flash this picture in his face...
This should be illegal. Once a debt is charged off, for better or worse, it's gone forever. I used to work for a credit card company that bought charged-off debt. What a despicable practice.
Plan 9, obviously.
"Ah yes, Plan 9 deals with the resurrection of the dead, in order to collect outstanding debts..."
"Brains ... brains ..."
That was *really* messed up. Don't you realize that there are things going on out there that we cannot control - especially those of us hit by ID theft??!?! You should have some compassion for people that get screwed.
Which is of course, a violation of federal law...
I saw him on tour at a local club recently. He'd ditched all the theatrics and costuming and was wearing blue jeans and his old Astrocreep era hat. He bantered and joked with the audience and appeared to be having a lot of fun with the whole thing and didn't come across as having a 'tude at all. Seemed like a fun guy to have a beer with actually.
I wish I hadn't stopped inventing soft drinks at "6-Up."
***Here's another idea, pay your bills & live within your means.***
Ever get in a major auto wreck? Even the ones that are not your fault can potentially wreck your credit.
Send a letter return reciept requested. Saying you have no knowledge of the debt and that it is past the statute of limitation (check that, but after 9 years. Cite the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and ask that they stop contacting you in anyway. Then check you credit report every month for the next 6 months to make sure they try nothing funny.
That does not slow much less stop some of them.
Im talking about the people who screw themselves. They are on the recieving end of the vast majority of collection agent calls.
See Section 802(e)(6)(F) of the code section posted above.
I was just joking. I'd always assumed the Zombie persona was only for the stage.
Thanks for the inside info! I bet it was a great show.
I have a collection agency myself and think this type of thing is disgusting and wrong.
Plus, there is the FDCPA to deal with.
Maybe I am too much of a nice guy, but this just sounds wrong.
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