When debt collectors go too far

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse ^ | August 24, 2004 | Brytani

[Brytani]

With all the recent news stories of debt collectors landing in prison or being taken out of business for illegal and strong arm tactics, I thought i'd share with my fellow Freepers a great resource to help if you ever have to deal with a scumbag debt collector.

http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs27-debtcoll.htm

This link has resources to use if dealing with collection agencies/collectors, your rights, links to the FTC, sample letters and more.

I hope this is helpful to some Freepers who've been hounded rightly or wrongly by this pretty much unregulated billion dollar a year industry.

[Gabz]

I know a family that gave the address/contact info for the funeral home when the call came between the death and the funeral.........no calls ever occurred again.

[Hydroshock]

My dad got a collection notice on my Grandma's medicle bills over a year after she passed and after her estate was probated. He just chunked the notice.

[Hydroshock]

Cute.

[goldstategop]

Thanks. They'll close his account but if they don't, in a few weeks the estate doesn't owe them a dime and they can go pound sand.

( No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo!)

[dinoparty]

Technically, it could be either a spelling error or a grammar flaw, depending on how you look at it. If you use the wrong word, then I'd call it a grammar flaw; if you use the right word but spell it wrong, then I'd call it a spelling flaw. Either could apply here.

[goldstategop]

That's right - after a year, all claims against the deceadent lapse and are not enforceable. So any one with claims against the estate has a year from the date of death to file one and when that passes, they're out of luck. Death is the only thing that can release one from earthly debts.

( No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo!)

[Skooz]

You mean, my nefarious scheme to bequeath my student loan debt to my children has been in vain?

[Brytani]

Medical bills seem to be the worst and hardest to get cleared up. Especially when you've got some many hands working on it. A simple code error made at a doctors office or hospital seems to be the end of the world to insurance companies.

In the last year and a half, I've had over 16k in medical bills sent to me after sustaining a major injury to my lower spine while at work.

Between insurance, Workman's comp, and disability insurance, all should have been taken care of. However, I'm still dealing with bills going back to last year. It got so bad we ended up hiring a lawyer to help us straighten out things and even he hasn't been able to get everything taken care of.

Funny thing is part of the lawyer practice is collections related. He's even frustrated at how difficult it's been to get this mess taken care of.

[CertainInalienableRights]

I have a very uncommon Polish surname.

Surprisingly enough, I have discovered another person with the same first name and surname. Unfortunately, he's going through foreclosure in another state (I use Google alerts to track my name on the web).

Checked my credit reports and there were several accounts under my name that weren't mine. Luckily, none were in default and all were closed. There were also previous addresses and employers who did not match my personal history.

I had to dispute everything and now the reports are clean, but I've got to keep an eye out for when that foreclosure goes through to ensure it doesn't end up on my report.

I can't imagine what it must be like to have a name like John Smith - it must take constant monitoring to keep the report clean. If the bureaus can screw up my report with an uncommon name, the rest of their data must be garbage.

[Hydroshock]

My dad just told them she passed and the estate was no more and also he told them to get bent.

[Brytani]

They may it all depends on who you speak with and what mood they are in that day.

Basically the law says that correct information must be reported but discretion is still left to the company to report the information. A common tactic used in debt collections is to get a payment negotiation on the condition that the credit report is cleared. It takes place every single day.

It never hurts to ask and yes, they can remove the negative mark if they so desire.

[Old Professer]

Naw, mostly, it's just easy pickins.

[Old Professer]

Whirr, click, click, whirr...

[goldstategop]

The laws are there to protect heirs. Of course any medical expenses the deceased owed at THE TIME do have to be settled as well as funeral expenses and the grave marker and taxes on the estate. But for the rest - no, the heirs are not liable for the debts of their deceased parents or other relatives. After all debts are discharged, technically the estate is no more and has passed on.

( No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo!)

[Gabz]

Funny thing is part of the lawyer practice is collections related. He's even frustrated at how difficult it's been to get this mess taken care of.

But I bet it doesn't change the way his office handles collections.......sometimes the lawyers' offices are among the worst offenders.

[goldstategop]

Don't worry - when you shuffle that mortal coil, that becomes someone else's problem to deal with. What do debt collectors do - visit the cemetery?

( No more Olmert! No more Kadima! No more Oslo!)

[Brytani]

I get a call every morning from a collection agency out of California asking for my mother-in-law. They've been told in writing and verbally that she no longer lives with us, is in a nursing home in Texas, is on full disability and has full-blown Alzheimer's, congestive heart failure, end stage renal failure and diabetes. They still want me to pass a message to call them.

I'm at my wits end on dealing with this particular company. They don't care about the laws, we've sent them cease and desist letters, have complained to the FTC, the State of California and the Better Business Bureau and they still continue to call.

[Old Professer]

Driving a Lexis through Grammar City, Heavens!!!

[Gabz]

It wouldn't surprise me..........

[Gabz]

Have you tried the consumer Protection office of the Attorney General's office? Sounds to me like this is harrassment, plain and simple.