Harassing calls from a debt collector? Here is what you need to know

7 times a day meets the legal definition of harassment.

I guess Jennifer from nine years ago will attract replies until the OctoNet server hard drives rust, only because she got on the lead page.  https://800notes.com/arts/harassing-calls-fro ... 237325572699864

The FDCPA sets no numeric limit on collection calls. Typically state laws mirror Federal. Harassment claims are assessed in the context of the complaint, and they are difficult to win when the intent of the calling agency is unclear and/or the call recipient has not given orders to quit calling. Judges don't all agree on what "harassment" means, either.

Certainly a company which calls during curfew hours, and gives lame excuses when this is protested, has a harder time playing innocent. Certain bad actors take a position that they can call many times a day and night because there is no response, a decision which creates a feeling of siege or oppression, and could be found illegal if pled carefully.

This company call me on a Sunday, 12/18/2016 at 6:49PM. I know it's against the law for any collection company to call you on a Sunday.

Is that what you know or what you assume? Manitoba bars collection calls on Sundays and legal holidays. That's the one place in North America I can recall with such a law. No one seems to have rounded up a summary of US state curfews. Most if not all states mirror Federal law in this regard, and it places no ban on any day of the year. Anyone who can supply useful state law variants is of course welcome to correct me.

It's only legal if you don't answer the phone once you answer the phone and speak to them they cannot call you again for another 7 days.

I've been over this repeatedly the past few weeks. The FDCPA does not specify numeric limits on phone calls. By extension, it has no seven day suspension of call traffic based on a live response, or any other automatic stay based merely on whether a call is answered or not. I am again unaware of a state law which gets so granular either.

Maybe somewhere in the world there is a provincial or local statute with such exceptional language, and if so it would greatly help the readers if you would cite that law and your source. Otherwise you have only the in-house practice of a debt collection company which may have employed you, which is not the same as controlling laws.

What if the person the collection is being made for does not live in the USA but resides in Canada now, can a collection agency extend its grip into another country for debts not paid since 5 years?

I get debt collector calls a lot, and they are all valid because I cant pay on my credit cards anymore.  But in the state that I live in, social security is income exempt. Which means when they charge it off to a law firm to take me to court, the courts cant and wont make me pay the debt.  Because if you collect any type of social security benefits, that is an exemption in court.  You dont have to repay the debt.  I know, I've been to court 3 times and walked away only having to pay to park the car.

SSA and many other government benefits are exempt from garnishment to pay consumer debts in all states, not just your state and not merely "in court". Typical state laws offer weak protection of bank accounts, however, and judgment debtors with seized accounts often find themselves fighting to prove that stored funds came from an exempt source.

Having nothing but exempt assets does not mean "you don't have to repay the debt" to a judgment creditor. It only means you can't be forced to pay with what you have now. The moment you obtain non-exempt funds, the plaintiff's counsel will smell the dollars and launch a robotic claw at your pocket. No adult is truly "judgment-proof", but can be classified "collection-proof".

Also, it is not a given that every collection call is "valid". Agencies can break the FDCPA as easily after as before a debt is converted to a judgment.

Garnishing Social Security benefits due to a debt
http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/detai ... s-due-to-a-debt

Social Security payments are safe from debt collectors
https://800notes.com/forum/ta-2ba51984189040a ... debt-collectors

That is an open-ended question, prompting a more casual reply than is possible without the laws of your current province and former state in view, not to mention without a consumer financial contract to apply.

I don't know of anything to stop a consumer debt collector from making simple demands for payment across the North American international border. The agency would have to mind the rules which bind where you live. If there is talk of court or arbitration, then you may have a messy dispute over which locale's laws are controlling with regard to Statutes of Limitations and/or the correct legal venue.

In general, the place where the debt was substantially created by the consumer would set the standard. However, a contract you're said to have broken may insist that the creditor's home state has control. Then your state or province may have its own law which nullifies such a "choice of law" contract provision. There is no single answer to a problem which may require a whole flow chart of "if/then" conditionals. Certainly it invites competing analyses from both sides of the dispute, each arguing for the choice of law which favors their own goals.

I was a debt collector for a couple years, and some of the illegal and immoral things they made me do are why I am no longer a collector. However, a few things I have noticed here aren't really accurate. First off, a debt absolutely CAN be put on your credit report. The disputing or validation of debt isn't really what people think it means. Literally a company can print out a letter that states, *company* is owed *amount* by *your name* as of *date account created* and that's legal..... I have been to court before against a consumer rights attorney and the judge ruled in the collection company's favor. Now we were collecting on old credit card debts it may not be a blanket thing for all debt in all states, but validation isn't really a game-changer in most cases. In addition, the line about they can't threaten you with things like jail or trick you into paying, what the law so vaguely states, is that a company may not threaten any action they have no legal intention of doing. So basically they can't say I'm going to have you arrested, because legally they can't, BUT if a company says something like, I will take you to court and get a lien and take away your house. Is it legal? Technically yes, if the company has an attorney capable of filing such a thing, even though we all know it most likely won't happen and there is very slim chance the case would go to them, but if they can prove that they are capable and willing to do something, they can say it to you.
The best advice in general has already been stated: Get everything in writing!  Any agreement you want to make with a legitimate collector, make them fax/mail you an agreement, do not let them email it, as the law hasn't caught up with technology yet and an email may not stand up in court! Anything you send to them, get it return receipt requested as proof they got what you sent, and keep a copy of what you sent to them! If you ever do fully pay something off, make sure in addition to a copy of your agreement, they send you a written SIF or BIF form. It's like a completion certificate that you fully paid this debt. Some companies will get paid off, and then put your debt on their books as 'uncollectable' and sell it to another company, and then the next company comes at you expecting you to pay in full again! When you have a form from the last company it's fully paid off, the next company will leave you alone.

I was once the victim of an especially evil debt collector. This one somehow figured out that I rarely answer my home's land line except when my daughter calls from out of state. I answered once when it was not her usual number, but had the correct area code and her correct name. I thought she had a new phone and was perhaps calling to tell me that. But no, it was a debt collector!!! I was livid! I do not know how they did that. It seems that they would have had to obtain my phone records and study them, and somehow get a way for my daughter's name to appear in the caller ID. That's a lot of trouble to go to over a couple thousand dollar debt, isn't it? Or is it?

'fraid I need to sand down the edges of otherwise accurate statements.

} validation of debt isn't really what people think it means

The FDCPA standard of validation is quite low. The goal was to prevent bad actors from chasing imaginary debts and help forgetful or disorganized consumers. Validation is not proof of claim, only (at worst) an indicator that the creditor thinks a debt claim is plausible. Proof of claim can become complex and voluminous, the sort of material which is more likely to be seen during litigation or in prelude to a creditor suit. What plaintiffs offer for exhibits can be shredded by defendants who see through the doctored billing and defective affidavits which often ride on the "rocket docket".

All said, it is remarkable how many junk debt collectors cannot or will not validate when disputed in a simple letter, then fade away with zero collected. A few try sending irrelevant docs they already have, violating the FDCPA and disobeying the FTC’s clear instructions. So the DV letter does serve, among other critical functions, to separate tire-kickers from serious claimants.

} a company may not threaten any action they have no legal intention of doing. ... if the company has an attorney capable of filing such a thing ... they can say it to you.

Merely having an attorney apparently handy is not enough. The old ruse of attorney "flatrating" would remain a raging success otherwise. Plenty of agencies with a staff attorney or of apparent attorney ownership have lost to opponents who demonstrate a lack of "meaningful" involvement by a lawyer. This is why boilerplate disclaimers like "no attorney has reviewed this" have gained popularity.

} written SIF or BIF form

Some of the collector shills like to wave their imaginary "paid-thanks" letters like they've found a hot Cracker Jack prize. Seems to me the object of settling a debt is not to buy a receipt but assurance that you'll never hear any more claims for the same account. Therefore I would pour my effort into the terms of settlement, demanding no resale of the "forgiven" portion, no IRS-1099, and erasure of credit reporting if I have the legal violation leverage to force that. I would tell you how that plan once worked for me, except that none of my pursuing agencies across two decades gave priority to debt validation or legal compliance. Thus far all transfers of money have flowed from them to me.

The agency did not need your phone records for that stunt. Plain old skip tracing showed them where your daughter lives. It would be trivial to spoof a number in the same area or simply purchase the use of a nearby VOIP number for a couple dollars. It's just as cheap and easy to send you whatever Caller ID the thugs want you to see. The worst actors have been known to spoof police stations, district attorneys, court houses, anything to make victims wet pants and open wallets.

Such entrapment by fake Caller ID counts as a deceptive practice barred by the FDCPA, meaning the fakers should pay you for the trouble if this happened in the past year.

FDCPA § 1692e. False or misleading representations
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1692e

Ask for a fax# to send a CEASE & DESIST letter. They HAVE to give it to you. It is Federal Debt Collection Law. Once you send it, the calls will stop after the first 24 hours.