Court to Debt Collectors: Stay Off Facebook

Pay on time and then you don't have to worry.

not really. I happen to have an incredibly common last name. It hasn't happened to me yet, but my parents have had issues where debt collectors get identities wrong and have gone after them even though it was somebody else with the same name that was delinquent.

Imagine having that sort of thing happen to you when it wasn't even you and how embarassing that would be. I'm pretty sure my dad actually had to go so far as put in a motion to have the debt collectors license revoked due to how horrible that company was. I for one am glad this ruling was made. Debt collectors are scum bags and low lives of the same level as patent trolls, litterally, they buy debt for the purpose of collecting on it.

Now they need to enact laws to protect those of us that get calls from debt collectors trying to locate former residents.... I get calls from debt collectors trying to locate the former residents constantly...and after being told repeatedly that they're calling the wrong number, they decided to call at 11:45pm lastnight....

...or just don't use Facebook with your real data, or don't use it at all 8)

Cheers!

I'd block that phone number and any other they use to call from.

They actually try to get people to pay back debts they have incurred? Isn't credit payback an option based on whether you feel like it, or have an excuse? These companies pay money to assume debts and then think they have the right to collect money to pay it back and thus stay in business? The nerve!

Pay my bills on time, and I still get notices that the bill is late. I use snail mail though so I have a papertrail if I ever have to back up what I say.

I have a pretty common name. many years ago my brother had debt collectors calling to collect some one else's debt. Thing was he was only about 6 or 7. They refused to talk to my parents and got really aggressive until lawyers got involved. Then they just said "oops wrong person". I think it'd be much more reasonable if there was the opportunity for wrongfully harassed people to get some kind of retribution from the collectors.

While it is true that sometimes they get the wrong identity b/c of common last anmes and so on. The real problem is certain invidual's living beyond their means and ultimately bringin it upon themselves. I wonder if they know that if you just talk to the debt collection agency you can settle for as low as pennies on the dollar if you just work it out w/ them instead of the cowardice you see and hear of. I do sympathize with those that get wrongfully collected on, but that is a smaller minority than the majority of cases.

Yes, I do have a full time job, excellent credit, never late on any payments. EVER. I'm not a snot nosed kid, I'm actually a 29 year old professional, so please don't infer that I just have a grudge because they've gone after me or my family fairly.

And in response to lamorpa, somebody with your name made threats against me, does that mean I can have you arrested and file criminal charges? They have the right to collect the debts, yes, but I do believe they have the obligation to...I don't know, make sure they're trying to collect from the right person. But then again, I guess in your simple world, that's unreasonable. Since they don't make sure they're going after the RIGHT PERSON, and the tatics they use against the WRONG PERSON have driven them to suicide, yeah, I'd say they're scum bags and low lives. Please present anything to refute my opinion.

$3/month to block calls from specific numbers + $3/month to block calls from "restricted" or "private" numbers.... Not sure exactly what industry you work in, so I hope I don't offend you, but I work in the automotive field and thanks to our great economy (plus being tax time), money is really tight. I'm already having a hard time paying bills and can't really afford an extra $6/month just to block collectors.

Being a former debt collector I can say a few things here:

Blatant disregard of the FDCPA is a fineable offense that ends up with not only the company collecting able to be sued, but the individual collectors.

If you are:
-Receiving calls outside of the hours of 8AM-9PM (and that's YOUR local time, not the call center's)
-Getting another call within 24 hours of telling someone not to call back (you have to say it yourself over the phone, not someone else or an answering machine)
-Getting multiple messages left by the SAME collector in a 24 hour period
-Or the collector tells someone other than you, your spouse, or a co-signer (w/ the exception of the Carolina's, spouses aren't allowed to know in those states) about the debt
-Or when you are on the phone with them the message (given either by a rep or automated system) "I must inform you that this is an attempt to collect a debt, and all information obtained will be used for that purpose"
You can sue for the annulment of the debt plus extra.

The are people who abuse these laws however to sue themselves out of their debt, leaving many companies no other option but to take a kamikaze position and get as much cash as possible before someone sues them for the tiniest loophole, which leads to super aggressive collectors having to meet as high a goal as possible.

And as someone who talked to these debtors, I was not the asshole type, it's not in my nature, and that's why I never did as well as some of the hardcore collectors, but to be honest, I have heard every damn excuse about why people can't repay the debt that they incurred, and its jaded me. Example:"I'm on social security" "How long?" "7 years" "You got this card 2 years ago, ran it up to its $3000 limit and never made one payment, all the while aware you were on social security, and agreed to make payments on the card regardless of that fact" "..." And yes, that was a VERY common occurence.

There are also the cases of people coming over here from other countries, opening multiple lines of credit, and after they run em all up, run back to their countries. These are called plastic millionaires. And no, you are not required to have a social to open up a line of credit, you can use a taxpayer ID number (like greencard folks have) and run crap up to your heart's content. Lots of people from the middle east do this (based on statistics, not stereotypes).

The bastards that were the worst, the ones putting their kids on the phone: (What sounds like a 4 yr old girl)"Hewo?" "Hi there, is your mommie home?" "Nooo..." "How bout your daddy?" "No..." "Brother or sister?" "No..." "A babysitter?" "No..." "Honey are you home by yourself?" "No..." "Well who's there with you?" "My mommy..." "Can I talk to her?" "She said if I let you talk to her she'll beat me again..." I promptly called their local CPS and police, with the recorded conversation. I get a call an hour later "You asshole! They're taking away my daughter!!" "Well now that I have you on the phone, lets talk about the $8000 you owe me!" (in my head "You scummy bitch!") That's the crap that we had to deal with.

Honestly, I don't miss it, but I'm grateful for the experience because if I ever get a call from a collector I know how to cover my ass.

if the police can use it, it's fair game to every one else.
i am surprised facebook is not suing mark one or advertising to debt collection agencies to subscribe to their service.
a cousin of mine was only 3 months old when my aunt and uncle started getting calls from debt collectors over a car "he" had bought. that was back in 1985 identity theft wasn't just big when you put your details on a computer or in the internet.

I would sue the debt collectors for harassment! There are the proper channels to collect debt.

I can see why this is such a useful way to contact those that skip out on payments, but then there are serious privacy violations if everyone started doing it.

However, just pay and you're good. I wonder why people can't live within their means.

There's a couple of debt collectors underneath my floorboards.

Haha jk

OR AM I??!!!

Haha naww seriously jk

OR AM I?!!?one

roflol, that was awesome

Well, gee, maybe if we taught home economics in the schools again, we could put some debt collectors out of business.

Nah, it'll never work.

Fortunately, this scenario won't likely ever happen to me.

- John Smith

You said it. Personally, I don't see a use for Facebook.

You mean like how Cingular became AT&T and changed the terms of my contract, so I canceled. Then they sent a bill for a non-canceled contract which I resolved (including a final bill of $0)... which then 16 months later my mother (who cosigned for me) received a final collection notice from AFNI for the remainder of a canceled contract. Years of fighting them only resulted in AT&T saying "we don't own that debt [which never existed by their own paper work], there is nothing we can do" and AFNI saying "we don't care that you have provided us with paperwork proving this bill never existed, we bought a legitimate bill from AT&T and we have the right to collect it". Every time they added the damn thing back on my mom's credit report she'd have to send the credit reporting companies the packet of information and contest it (and it got removed). A couple years back they finally lost a lawsuit (believe it was class action) that caused the negative reporting to be permanently removed.

Point is, sometimes people do pay their bills on time. However, even if they don't, contacting all their facebook friends in order to shame them seems a bit... questionable.

Here's the problem. When dealing with the majority of debt collectors, you are not dealing with higher life forms. Should people pay their debts? Of course. Are there people that go out of their way to avoid paying debts? Yes there are. However, there are many people who for whatever reason fall behind. An unanticipated layoff, medical issues, you name it. They want to pay their debts. The problem is you have these debt collectors who go above and beyond and actually harass, such as the case in this article. Here's a real life example, I had 2 roommates. Both of them owed money to the same place. They also couldn't pay rent. So I kicked them out. Here's the kicker, my home phone number was there number of record at this collection agency. So this lady calls for roommate 1. "I'm with so and so company, we're trying to get ahold of"....the usualy stuff. My response was, "they aren't here and I don't know where they are." I know, they've heard that before, but honestly I didn't. Ok, she calls back 5 min laters. Same woman, looking for roommate 2. Again, "Lady, i kicked them out, probably for the same reasons you're looking for them, stop calling". 5 min later, same woman. "Yes i'm a friend of *roommate 1*, do you know how to get a hold him?" My response, "Look, I have caller ID, at least hide your number if you're going to lie to me. I still don't know where either of them are" Now you would think that would be enough. No, the next day, same woman, (with phone number now hidden), "Yes, i'm a friend of...." This is the crap these people pull. It's ridiculous.

That is small consolation for John Smith, Lee Wong or Mohammed Singh who gets thousands of incorrect Facebook requests every day.

No, based on how utility companies do business the original debt is sold to the collector for around 85% of its original value as collecting themselves would cost more than 15%.
So the original company is happy.
In steps a person or company who are not as polite and some resort to illegal activities such as intimidation, bullying and harrassment.

The industry is awash with this practice and it has to stop.

The really pathetic issue here is that most debt collectors are pretty much low life's, themselves. These are people who haven't got sense enough, or either aren't fortunate enough to land a REAL job. So, they desperately jump at the chance to sit in a boiler room call center and read from a script all day over the phone. They're usually paid pretty crappy wages, too. Minimum wage and maybe a bonus or two at the end of the week IF they do a reasonably good job of collecting debts. But, most people who WANT to pay their bills have fallen on hard times, lost their jobs, or had an unfortunate illness (i.e. hospital bills) that have left them stranded...then some moron with less than a high school education calls you, uttering threats, demanding payment, etc. Many people just ignore them...and it's too easy to wait for them to stumble - then we can sue THEM!

HOW IS IT LEGAL FOR CREDIT CARD COMPANIES AND OTHER LENDERS TO PROVIDE PERSONAL INFORMATION TO SCAVENGER DEBT COLLECTORS? AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THE SCAVENGERS CAN ACCESS YOUR INFORMATION TO BEGIN THE COLLECTION PROCESS FOR JUST PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR. ISN'T THE RISK BUILT IN TO THE HIGH RATES YOU PAY FOR CREDIT CARDS, AND HOW IS IT ETHICAL OR JUSTIFIABLE FOR THE SCAVENGER WHO HAS PAID $00.01 ON THE DOLLAR TO COLLECT THE FULL AMOUNT ISSUED BY THE PRIMARY CREDITOR AND KEEP IT ALL? THE PRIMARY CREDITOR FOR EXAMPLE, LITERALLY SOLD THE WRITTEN OFF DEBT FOR $100.00, THE SCAVENGE COLLECTS $5000.00, PLUS FEES AND INTEREST. THEY CAN TAKE YOU TO COURT, CALL YOUR EMPLOYER, FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS, AND FAMILY MEMBERS TO EMBARRASS YOU. THEY CAN GARNISH YOUR WAGES AND PLACE LIENS ON YOUR PROPERTY. THAT'S IS THE SAME AS IF I FIND YOUR WALLET, PICK IT UP USING 1% OF MY ENERGY TO DO IT, AND CLAIM IT IS MINE BECAUSE I HAVE A 1% INTEREST FOR PICKING IT UP. WHO WRITES AND APPROVES THESE FINANCIAL LAWS? I WANT THEIR NAMES, AND JUST WHO IT IS THEY CLAIM TO REPRESENT!

I love the predictable comments from those that "pay the debt and there is no problem". I can only hope you are in their shoes one day soon. Do you expect people to have a crystal ball to predict the financial future?

SOMETIMES PEOPLE CANNOT HELP WHAT HAPPENS! Thank god the country is not run by idiots, and people have a RIGHT to declare insolvency to get VULTURES off their back.