I received a call from a debt collection agency about a neighbor

[hamsterjill]

First off, I think this practice is horrible. Second, should I call them back to tell them never to call me again? Or should I ignore completely?

I back tracked their phone number to "Pioneer Credit".

I know this neighbor in passing, but not well. I have no intention of giving this collection place any information on this gentleman. His situation is not my business. But can this collection place keep calling me if I don't instruct them not to call?

[JustAnotherGen]

1. You have no relationship with them

They must stop calling. Tell them this very clearly. You are not obligated to take their calls.

[gopiscrap]

2. No they can't send them a letter

requiring a signature for receipt. I would also notify the neighbor of their call, it might be a collection practice violation depending on the state you live. In WA a debt collection can't even call the debtor at his/her place of work, home, church or associates, relatives or neighbors if you word it that way by a letter sent to them that requires a sig. I just recieved $4,300.oo not too long ago from a collection agency that did that to me.

[guillaumeb]

26. What a nice response. $4300 is certainly a nice reward. eom

[gopiscrap]

30. yeah it was from when I had cancer and was uninsured because ot was called a pre existing condition

I was getting towards the end calls at least twice a day......I was part of a class action. The actual award was about 6k but expenses and legal fees took about 30% of it.

[Arkansas Granny]

3. Is there a possibility that your neighbor gave them your name and number as a reference?

I've never heard of this practice before. Personally, I wouldn't call them back.

[hamsterjill]

5. No, no possibility of this.

I don't know this person well enough that he would have my information.

[jberryhill]

4. It's an intimidation tactic used by credit agencies

Do nothing.

[FSogol]

6. +1 n/t

[hamsterjill]

7. I think that's the best course of action.

If they call again, then I will address it at that time.

Just pisses me off that they can do this kind of thing!

[jberryhill]

21. Depends on what you mean by "can do this kind of thing"

If by "can" you mean "having the physical capacity to call people and talk to them", well, yes.

If by "can" you mean "are allowed to do this as part of an attempt to collect a debt", then that's another story:

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/can-debt-collectors-contact-others-about-your-debt.html#

Your neighbor may be entitled to sue them for statutory and other damages.

[hamsterjill]

22. Youre an attorney, right?

But wouldn't the debt collector have had to have given me specific information about the debt? That hasn't happened. They only identified themselves by a first name and that they were calling about the neighbor, and gave his name.

I only learned it was a credit collection by backtracking the phone number.

[jberryhill]

27. Yes

However, I am neither your attorney nor your neighbor's attorney.

"But wouldn't the debt collector have had to..."

I stated that your neighbor may have a claim. Your neighbor may have a claim.

Whether your neighbor indeed has a claim would depend on the specifics of what you were told in the conversation, for which I was not present, and I do not ordinarily assume that a terse OP on a message forum necessarily conveys all of the potentially relevant facts.

The title of the thread is "I received a call from a debt collection agency about a neighbor". One might interpret the OP in any number of ways. The OP then goes on to further state that you checked out the number and identified a specific debt collection agency.

Given your further clarification, it appears that you did not know that you had received a call from a debt collection agency until the call was concluded. However, the OP is consistent with a situation in which someone called you, identified themselves generally as "a collection agency" and then you figured out the name of the collection agency with called you.

Perhaps a more accurate thread title would be "I received a call from what I later learned was a debt collection agency about a neighbor" which would go a long way toward resolving the ambiguity between the two of the statements in the OP - namely, at what point in time did you know it was a debt collection agency.

I am as entitled as anyone else to kick things around on a discussion forum, but of course a statement to the effect that "your neighbor may have a claim" would depend on the specific circumstances involved.

This is why, in the real world, if one is seeking legal advice, it is best to consult with an attorney who is able to conduct an interview designed to get at all of the potentially relevant details which people tend not to be specific about in casual conversation.

[hamsterjill]

29. No worries. I won't be reporting you to whatever bar you have membership.

I didn't write the OP with the intention of it being legal language.

I'm not questioning your opinion. I, too, was just discussing with a fellow DU'er. I merely thought I remembered a previous post from you which indicated you were an attorney.

Peace.

[jberryhill]

39. LEGAL UPDATE - disclosure of caller's identity not required

You may find this interesting:

http://www.t-mlaw.com/blog/post/does-the-fdcpa-require-disclosure-of-a-callers-identity-to-a-non-debtor-third-party/


Does the FDCPA require disclosure of a caller’s identity to a non-debtor third party?
By Zachary Cohen on April 30, 2013

The U.S. District Court of Maryland recently ruled on this issue and the answer appears to be “No.” See Lynn v. Monarch Recovery Management, Inc., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41700 (N.D. Md. March 25, 2013). The issue of whether a debt collector violates 15 U.S.C. § 1692d(6) by failing to provide “meaningful disclosure” of its identity to a non-debtor was at issue in a suit brought by a non-debtor who alleged he was being harassed by calls from a debt collector seeking to recover debts incurred by either a prior resident or the non-debtor’s brother.

[hamsterjill]

41. That is interesting.

Thank you.

[jberryhill]

42. Your bill is in a PM

[hamsterjill]

43. So is your check!

LOL

[jberryhill]

44. I appreciate a fast pay

And I have a double-your-money-back guarantee.

[Wellstone ruled]

16. This is part of Pioneer's tactics.

Should report them to the BBB. These people have been busted before for their tactics.

[safeinOhio]

8. I've told them

My time is valuable and it will cost $2,000. For me to speak wihh you. Never called back.

[hamsterjill]

9. Well, I guess this pisses me off so badly because I was once a victim.

Decades ago, I divorced a man who subsequently didn't pay his debts. I got collection calls all the time for his debts which were in no way legally mine. Because I still live at the address where he and I lived when we were married, I used to still get phone calls on my land line up until about 3 years ago.

At that time, I got rid of the land line, and the harassment all magically went away. Until today when I got this call about the neighbor.

But I digress...

Anyway, one particularly "assertive" debt collector kept calling me about my ex-husband. I researched the company, found the name of the owner in the property records, was able to associate a home phone number to that owner, and called the owner at home. Told him that every time I received a phone call from his collection company, I would be calling his home.

It's amazing what you can find on the web!

I never got another phone call...

[spiderpig]

11. I hate unsolicited calls with the passion of

(insert how many thousand burning suns).

I got 6 yesterday alone. 5 were already on call block.

I Googled the 6th number and it was an escort service. i am throwing Mr. pig serious shade.

[hamsterjill]

13. Thanks for the laugh!

Mr. Pig has some 'splaining to do'!!!!! LOL

[Warpy]

31. I told them if they ever called again, I'd sue their asses for harassment

Nope, no return call to me, either.

[haele]

10. Check to see if Pioneer Credit is one of those Zombie/Scam debt collectors.

They may be setting you up to get you on a collections list. They at least know your phone number is active, and approximately where you live.
Also, contact your phone system provider and find out how you can block calls. That's how you keep them from calling you.

Haele

[hamsterjill]

12. I can block the calls from my phone.

But these companies just use various numbers, and until you block every number, you can still get calls.

Yes, I considered the possibility of it being a scam, but they used the neighbor's name, so I think it is probably in relation to him.

[democratisphere]

14. Tons of scam callers like this. I block every call like this.

Sometimes scam callers like this are actually collecting information about you, from you, to be used in future scam calls to you from different phone numbers with different area codes. Trust no one in these times.

[hamsterjill]

15. Trust me. I don't.

Pun intended!!!! LOL (But a true statement)

[democratisphere]

36. BLOCKED!

[The Big Ragu]

17. Possibly a violation of Federal law?

I would get with the neighbor and see about suing them.

[hamsterjill]

19. I wish it was, but I don't think it is.

Unfortunately. Consumers have few protections any more. If I tell them not to call me, if they continue to harass me, then I think there would be grounds for some action. But I'm not returning the phone call. If they do try to contact me again, I'll consult someone in the know.

[jberryhill]

40. The US District Court for the Northern District of Maryland has ruled otherwise

see article posted above.

[Heddi]

18. Sadly it's easy to find out neighbors

there are plenty of websites where these collection agencies type in name and address and get a list of all the names and ph#'s of everyone in the neighborhood. So they just go from house to house. Can also find relatives' names and cities that way, do a reverse search and call relatives, etc.

Very ridiculous, I hate it, tell them not to call you again and report them if they do.

[hamsterjill]

20. Yes, it is easy in this day and age.

Still doesn't seem like it should be possible for them to do, but it is.

[Heddi]

24. I was actually shocked how easy it is

and I'm hardly an internet/computer/information noob. I typed in a diliberate misspelling of my last name and the correct name came up, address, phone (not hidden), an old email but one that I had been associated with up to about 3 years ago, employers, and family members of both myself and my husband. All just out there. Their addresses and phone #'s and people they're associated with

Very frightening.

ALso, because of for many years I was an employee of a state hospital, my salary was easily found online if you knew my name and the state. Just right there. It was very wrong by several tens of thousands of dollars but still, someone could look at that and see a lot about me, coupled with my address and family members...frightening

[FakeNoose]

23. Do you have caller ID?

If your phone displays the name or number of the caller (Caller ID), look to see who's calling before answering the call.

If you don't recognize the caller - don't answer. Let it go to your voice mail. Then listen to the message - you can still pick up the call if it's someone you know, or else call them back. That's screening your calls and everyone does it.

If you don't recognize the person who's calling, it's most likely a nuisance call that you don't want anyway. Most of those are robo-dialed by computer now, and it can record your voice when you answer the phone. The recording of your voice can be used to prove that you've agreed to something over the phone - that you never agreed to.

For example a stranger asks, "Is this Mr. Jones?" and you answer "yes". They can later edit your answer to make it sound like you said "yes" to buying an expensive item and agreeing to their terms. Never answer your phone if you don't recognize the name or number on Caller ID.

You can apologize later if it turns out to be someone you really do know.

[hamsterjill]

25. I never answer any call that I don't know who the caller is.

This call went to voicemail, and I was, frankly, surprised that they left a voicemail. Because a recorded voicemail can be evidence. A phone call can be defended as having dialed a wrong number.

[yellerpup]

28. The creditors often use a reverse directory

to find out who the neighbors are then try to talk them into posting a note on the door of the neighbor because they can't reach them themselves. We lived in an apartment building at the time and I discovered that they were doing this with all our neighbors. The last time they called, I asked them what my cut would be if I posted a note and they were paid off. They never called ME again, but they kept calling the neighbors.

[FakeNoose]

32. They also pester employers

The amount of robo-dialing bill collection (dunning) calls we get at my company is unreal.

It's never a live person, always a recording. I just hang up, because why would I listen to it anyway?
The call isn't for me, but I sometimes answer the phone at my office.

The point is, the dunning calls just waste everyone's time, but they never stop.

[yellerpup]

34. As if you can do your job and theirs, too.

Any way for your company to block these? I sympathize.

[FakeNoose]

37. Employees have to prove they're employed

... in order to apply for a loan, or a credit card.

So the credit issuer (or bank) already has our company's name and telephone number.
Now they're trying to collect a late payment, and who do they call?
Our company didn't co-sign or anything, so we're not responsible.
We just get the annoying calls.

I'm sure this is common now in the days of robo-dialing.

[Doreen]

33. Years ago when my ex got a call from a collection agency.

They actually suggested to him that I go out and prostitute to get money for him to pay it off. There was no way we could report it. First my ex slammed the phone down and when he tried to call back there was no number in existence.

[struggle4progress]

35. "I'm not involved so stop harassing me"

[Orrex]

38. I've had repo men knock on my door to ask when a neighbor would be home

My answer was "About half past why don't you drive your towtruck up your ass?"

[clementine613]

45. They want you to pay your neighbor's debt??

How typically Rethug. That's what we get living in Trump's America.

[hamsterjill]

46. Not exactly.

I believe they are trying to embarrass the neighbor by contacting those of us who live near. Shitty tactic.

They can't make me responsible for his debt.

[clementine613]

47. Probably...

... but it wouldn't surprise me if they did try.