Eh?

The bill was for a $50 purchase from a year ago. And because I hadn’t paid this $50 purchase, I had accrued $200 in late fees. Nice. The thing is, the purchase made a year ago was not me. How could it be? I’d closed that account two years ago, right?  So I called the company, and I said, “Hey, I’ve closed this account.” To which, they said, “Uh, we have no record of that.” No record??? I explicitly remember closing the account. I remember cutting up the card. I remember it! But they had no record, so the person I had closed the account with had obviously lied, didn’t close the account, b.s.

Then, I explain to them, well, there’s no way I used the card a year ago, it’s been cut up and dead for at least two years. The guy on the other end tells me this little fact: you don’t need the store card to make a purchase with the card; all you need is an account with the store, and then if you give them your name, they will charge the card. That seems illegal on soooooooo many levels. So, anyone can just walk into your store, pretend you’re me, and if they luck out and I have an account, they can charge to it? Wow, talk about consumer protection.

So they tell me my only recourse is to file a complaint, and they’ll study what I’ve said, and if it seems the card was misused, they will strike the bill from my account. So I write up my complaint, and I send it in. I get a call 30 days later. The person says I was two weeks late in filing my complaint. That because I was late, there was nothing I could do, so they were going to have to just charge me the $250 no matter what. Was this some kind of crazy scam? I sent them the complaint as soon as they told me about it. How is it my fault it took them 30 days to look at it instead of within two weeks? Do I have to personally go down there and order them to read my complaint on time?

At this point, I’m so fed up with this company. I tell them, look, you just lost a customer for life. Even though I didn’t use your card anymore, I still made regular purchases at your store. But now I won’t. Not ever again, and that’s a bigger loss than this $250. They didn’t care. Said it was $300 because another 30 days had gone by. I was going to scream. I contacted the Better Business Bureau, and I filed a complaint.

I wanted to warn others not to fall for this trap. After only a few days, a representative of the company called me. They apologized profusely. Oh, you didn’t need to contact the better business bureau. We could have worked this out. There was no need to do that. They removed the $300 bill I owed them. Then, they asked if they could do anything for me. I told them, close my damn account this time! And this time, they sent me confirmation the account was closed.

So, I guess the moral of the story is, cry and complain and tattle-tale, because it’s the only way these companies give a crap.

M.

No, seriously, good luck. You’re going to need it. Take it from someone with personal experience. I have been harassed. My family has been harassed. Even my neighbors have been harassed, all because of my debt. These people lack morals. It’s not like you can easily call the police either. “Excuse me, officer, I keep getting phone calls because I can’t afford to pay my bills.”

So, what are your options? Other than paying your debt, there isn’t a lot you can do. I’ve been looking into this because I have a couple debt collectors that won’t get off my ass. It doesn’t put money in my bank account calling me at all hours of the night. No, at best, it leaves me exhausted and groggy and unable to perform my duties as an employee. Maybe it’ll get me fired.

So, without further ado, here’s what the law says:

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, enforces the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices to collect from you.

What the Hell does that mean? Well, let’s break it down into a simple question/answer forum here.

Can debt collectors call me at all hours of the day?

No. They cannot. They should not ever contact you before 8am and after 9pm. Other times are considered inconvenient. Damn straight they’re inconvenient. The next time I get a call at 2am, I’m making a note of it. Who called, what time they called, what they called about, what they said. The more information I have, the more ammunition I will have against them.

How can I get that debt collector off my back?

Talk to them.

That’s a novel idea, right? If this isn’t even your debt, see if you can make the collector understand that. If it is your debt, try and work out a payment plan. Maybe you’ll get lucky and the bill collectors will have some sense. Maybe I can’t afford to pay off everything right now, but I could probably pay it slowly over time. I need to talk to these people, one on one…

If talking doesn’t resolve anything, you should write them to desist with the harassing phone calls.

Make a copy of your letter. Send the original by certified mail, and pay for a “return receipt” so you’ll be able to document what the collector received. Once the collector receives your letter, they may not contact you again, with two exceptions: a collector can contact you to tell you there will be no further contact or to let you know that they or the creditor intend to take a specific action, like filing a lawsuit. Sending such a letter to a debt collector you owe money to does not get rid of the debt, but it should stop the contact. The creditor or the debt collector still can sue you to collect the debt.

Is it ok for the debt collector to contact others?

They’re not allowed to discuss your debt with anyone aside from your attorney if you have one. Otherwise, they may call your family members, employer, etc, but only to ask for contact information. If they mention your debt, they have violated the law. Why do I have the feeling they haven’t been calling my family at all hours of the night just to get my phone number…which they ALREADY HAVE!

What if they keep contacting me after I’ve explained it wasn’t my debt?

Unless they have sent you undeniable proof that it truly is your debt, and you truly owe X amount of dollars, then they have absolutely no right to contact you any further. They have broken the law.

Debt collectors may not do the following:

• harass (i.e. repeatedly call you, make threats of violence, use foul language)
• lie (”you have committed a crime!”)
• threats (”you’ll be arrested if you don’t pay this debt!”)
• add interest, surcharges, etc to your debt unless that was part of the original agreement
• if you have multiple debts, they cannot take payments from you and arbitrarily apply those to the debts they want (such as the debts with the lowest interest rates), they must apply them to the debts you choose

What other recourse do I have if a debt collector is harassing me?

You have the right to sue a collector in a state or federal court within one year from the date the law was violated. If you win, the judge can require the collector to pay you for any damages you can prove you suffered because of the illegal collection practices, like lost wages and medical bills. The judge can require the debt collector to pay you up to $1,000, even if you can’t prove that you suffered actual damages. You also can be reimbursed for your attorney’s fees and court costs. A group of people also may sue a debt collector as part of a class action lawsuit and recover money for damages up to $500,000, or one percent of the collector’s net worth, whichever amount is lower. Even if a debt collector violates the FDCPA in trying to collect a debt, the debt does not go away if you owe it.

For more info, visit http://www.ftc.gov/credit

Ug. It’s only Monday, and I’m already tired of this week.

M.