Learn how to make creditors stop harassing you!
Say you are at home with your family, about to sit down to dinner. The phone rings, and you already know who it is on the other end. You don’t want to answer it, and the caller ID confirms your suspicions. It’s a number you don’t recognize, but you know it’s a collection agency again. How annoying.
Have you ever wished you could just stop all the harassing calls? They embarrass you by calling you at work. They threaten you and scare your children. Have you wondered what your rights are?
In fact there are several ways to make creditors stop harassing you by phone. When you get a harassing phone call, you should sit down right away and write the company to whom you owe the debt in question what is called a “Do Not Call” letter. This letter will instruct the creditor to stop harassing you with phone calls, and give them a better way to contact you.
One way to keep these harassing calls from happening is to call the company to whom you owe as soon as you know you will be unable to pay on time. You can attempt to work out a payment schedule with them, which will show them that you are acting in good establishment and intend to pay what you owe.
Keep a record of apiece and every time a creditor tries to reach you by phone. Log the date and time, the debt they are calling about, the caller’s study and the creditor they are calling on behalf of. If it is not against the law (and this varies by state), record the call; or at least tell the caller that the call is being recorded. This may make them think twice about calling you again
Federal statutes are in place to protect people in your situation too. Creditors are not permitted to call you before 8 in the morning or after 9 in the evening, and may call you only one time after sending them as “Do Not Call” letter - and this is a call to tell you they will stop calling. Creditors may not under any circumstances call you at work, ever. If this ever happens, tell them so.
Additionally, creditors may not threaten your children, threaten action which they cannot by law take, or talk to anyone but you or an involved party such as a spouse or your lawyer about your debt. Creditors can’t place you in slammer - and without a court order, cannot seize assets or garnish your wages.
What creditors CAN do are these three things: They can refuse your business in the future, they can sue you for what you owe (though this is unlikely as will almost certainly cost more than you owe to sue you) or they can report your non-payment to a credit reporting bureau
Another thing they cannot do is bully and harass you. You are a citizen and you have legal rights and protections. If you are being harassed by a creditor, you can stop them. You don’t have to be treated badly on statement of debt which you fully intend to repay.
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