help restore my faith in humanity

[Big Mon]

It's weird looking at you both in one thread.

+1

[devnulljp]

Find one in every car. You'll see.

[deadbeatriot]

[snipelfritz]

to all of you getting bothered by collectors, when it gets really bad, here's what you can do if it's the same agency calling you over and over again.

when they keep calling for so-and-so, assuming you've already told them that particular debtor is not available at that number, make sure you take down the name of the company (and a callback number if possible) BEFORE telling them it's the wrong number (tell them you're taking a message or something). they are breaking the law every time they call you back after you tell them the person they're looking for no longer lives there.

keep track of when they call you. write down the date and time. or, if you have a lawyer, get them on a 3-way call as soon as the collector calls you. they are required to record most of their phone calls and keep a log of ALL of their phone calls.


and then contact a lawyer and sue them.

most of the time they'll settle out of court. but even if they don't, thanks to the FDCPA, you'll win unless you didn't keep track of who was calling you. don't forget it could be several different collectors. there are people who rack up debt, move away and change their number, and do it all over again, fucking over the next guy to get the number.

of course, you could change your number, which usually costs money, or get a privacy manager that intercepts blocked numbers, but you may not get important calls regarding personal business matters with banks or the like.


hope this helps.

Are you assuming the debtor doesn't live there? Because if not, I'm pretty sure you'd lose that settlement and get countersued for for phone fraud/no real lawyer would take your case in the first place and call you an idiot.

[Astricii]

to all of you getting bothered by collectors, when it gets really bad, here's what you can do if it's the same agency calling you over and over again.

when they keep calling for so-and-so, assuming you've already told them that particular debtor is not available at that number, make sure you take down the name of the company (and a callback number if possible) BEFORE telling them it's the wrong number (tell them you're taking a message or something). they are breaking the law every time they call you back after you tell them the person they're looking for no longer lives there.

keep track of when they call you. write down the date and time. or, if you have a lawyer, get them on a 3-way call as soon as the collector calls you. they are required to record most of their phone calls and keep a log of ALL of their phone calls.


and then contact a lawyer and sue them.

most of the time they'll settle out of court. but even if they don't, thanks to the FDCPA, you'll win unless you didn't keep track of who was calling you. don't forget it could be several different collectors. there are people who rack up debt, move away and change their number, and do it all over again, fucking over the next guy to get the number.

of course, you could change your number, which usually costs money, or get a privacy manager that intercepts blocked numbers, but you may not get important calls regarding personal business matters with banks or the like.


hope this helps.

Are you assuming the debtor doesn't live there? Because if not, I'm pretty sure you'd lose that settlement and get countersued for for phone fraud/no real lawyer would take your case in the first place and call you an idiot.

Also, the nazis were just doing their job too.

[Jwar]

Dude I work at a "health food" store. So I feel your pain to a certain extent. People are SOOOOOOOOO fucking stupid nowadays. It's almost unbelievable how irrational or insane people get over ridiculous shit. I fucking hate customer service in general. Any job where you have to deal with the general public sucks because, let's face it, the general public sucks.

[snipelfritz]

to all of you getting bothered by collectors, when it gets really bad, here's what you can do if it's the same agency calling you over and over again.

when they keep calling for so-and-so, assuming you've already told them that particular debtor is not available at that number, make sure you take down the name of the company (and a callback number if possible) BEFORE telling them it's the wrong number (tell them you're taking a message or something). they are breaking the law every time they call you back after you tell them the person they're looking for no longer lives there.

keep track of when they call you. write down the date and time. or, if you have a lawyer, get them on a 3-way call as soon as the collector calls you. they are required to record most of their phone calls and keep a log of ALL of their phone calls.


and then contact a lawyer and sue them.

most of the time they'll settle out of court. but even if they don't, thanks to the FDCPA, you'll win unless you didn't keep track of who was calling you. don't forget it could be several different collectors. there are people who rack up debt, move away and change their number, and do it all over again, fucking over the next guy to get the number.

of course, you could change your number, which usually costs money, or get a privacy manager that intercepts blocked numbers, but you may not get important calls regarding personal business matters with banks or the like.


hope this helps.

Are you assuming the debtor doesn't live there? Because if not, I'm pretty sure you'd lose that settlement and get countersued for for phone fraud/no real lawyer would take your case in the first place and call you an idiot.

Also, the nazis were just doing their job too.

Details, sir, are good to read. I had that in mind in my caveat on legality, but let me extend that to the widest most general sense of morality as well. I'm also assuming you were talking about my other post because your quotes/comment follow no logical sense whatsoever.

[bigchiefbc]

"health food" store

Or, as I like to call them, "horseshit peddlers". I think it carries more oomph than "snake-oil salesmen". This whole organic/whole/holistic/natural/herbal thing makes me want to sit people down and have a stern talk with them.

[snipelfritz]

^There's some organic/natural foods that can be quite good for you, but I sit on your side of the fence. Most of it is just a label so they can charge you more.

Back to the topic at hand:
So if debt call centers are evil people then are cashiers evil as well? They are simply arbiters informing you of what you owe for goods or services.

Nazis killed people. There is no one being murdered in this scenario.

[devnulljp]

Also, the nazis were just doing their job too.

Godwinned!

[bigchiefbc]

^There's some organic/natural foods that can be quite good for you, but I sit on your side of the fence. Most of it is just a label so they can charge you more.

Back to the topic at hand:
So if debt call centers are evil people then are cashiers evil as well? They are simply arbiters informing you of what you owe for goods or services.

Nazis killed people. There is no one being murdered in this scenario.

It's not the job, it's the tactics. I have had dozens of experiences myself over the last couple years when debt collectors used shady/illegal/harassing behavior to make my life a living hell, for a debt that wasn't even mine.

[bubstance]

Wait why is a debt collector here trying to make us feel sorry for him?

I totally believe you're one of the good ones Deadbeatriot, but keep in mind that 99% of the guys who do your job are the lowest pieces of shit in the universe.

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, no. You're the dick in this situation. People who get hired in call centers by credit card/debt collection companies have absolutely no stake whatsoever in whether or not the people pay. They're just putting in hours for a pay check. If that makes them "the lowest pieces of shit in the universe" then anyone who works for pay is as well. If I work at McDonalds as a cook, does that make me a money-grubbing ass wipe who wants to give children heart attacks in the fourth grade? No, it makes me someone who's probably underpayed, underappreciated and probably not using my capabilities to their furthest extent.

Go work in a call center for a day. Any kind of call center. I worked at a university one that called alumni. It sucked. I had to ask unemployed people for money for shit like sports and the new business school building. Does that make me an asshole? No, I was just doing my job. There were plenty of people who were well off and had no problem giving a little bit to the school(and one who was a tight-end for the Pittsburgh Steelers, I got a big donation of that one ).

Is it different because they work for a debt collections agency? No. Debt can be a great thing just as long as you pay it back on time. If someone is calling you to remind you of an outstanding balance, how is that shitty of them? Sure, plenty of people have good reasons for not paying back their debt, but some take it for granted. What are the credit card companies supposed to do, just let it go? That's absolutely idiotic. Studies have shown the best way to get money from people(whether donations, sales, or owned) is to directly and explicitly contact them. It's a viable investment to hire people to call their customers to retrieve debts. If anyone is a "piece of shit," it's those lazy ass-hats ringing the bells for the salvation army. I bet each of them only makes enough money in pocket change on their first day to cover the cost of the bell and bucket. There's so much more effective and active ways to get funds no matter what the cause is.

People who do their job are nothing more than that: People who do their job. The job itself and who it is for is irrelevant(assuming everything here is legal). Personnally, I think it's so incredibly low and baseless to attack someone personally for what they do on someone else's time(aka for a paycheck). Nobody wants to pursue a career in debt collecting, it's usually just a means of making ends meet, and maybe even paying off their own debt.[/diatribe]

Ah, a sensible argument appears.

Bravo, snipelfritz. Bravo.

[snipelfritz]

^There's some organic/natural foods that can be quite good for you, but I sit on your side of the fence. Most of it is just a label so they can charge you more.

Back to the topic at hand:
So if debt call centers are evil people then are cashiers evil as well? They are simply arbiters informing you of what you owe for goods or services.

Nazis killed people. There is no one being murdered in this scenario.

It's not the job, it's the tactics. I have had dozens of experiences myself over the last couple years when debt collectors used shady/illegal/harassing behavior to make my life a living hell, for a debt that wasn't even mine.

Such as...

[bigchiefbc]

^There's some organic/natural foods that can be quite good for you, but I sit on your side of the fence. Most of it is just a label so they can charge you more.

Back to the topic at hand:
So if debt call centers are evil people then are cashiers evil as well? They are simply arbiters informing you of what you owe for goods or services.

Nazis killed people. There is no one being murdered in this scenario.

It's not the job, it's the tactics. I have had dozens of experiences myself over the last couple years when debt collectors used shady/illegal/harassing behavior to make my life a living hell, for a debt that wasn't even mine.

Such as...

Such as calling a several different times of the day, especially weird times of the day (before 8am, after 9pm) after I tell them that no one by that name lives here, just so that they can "catch" that person answering the phone. Such as hanging up as soon as I ask what company they're with, so that they can keep calling back, claiming that this is the first time they're calling. Such as asking me a bunch of strangely personal questions (about where I've lived in the past, what my wife's maiden name is, etc.)

[snipelfritz]

Wait, are these people actually looking for you? If they are and you're telling them you don't live there, you're lying, demonstrating cowardice, possibly committing fraud and it's absurd for you to expect anyone's sympathy. I'm sure they're just as irritated as you are.

I'm not trying to rag on you, I've been in similar situations (not credit but banks), and I know how easy it is to want to hide from it. It's not the best thing to do, but I've certainly done it. However, acting like it's some poor employee of the collections company's fault is ridiculous.