I will try to make this brief and as clear as possible. My question is, has anyone had experience in suing a debt collector? or, know the proper procedure etc. ?? I was contacted by a man on MY phone who was looking for my brother. He identified himself by name and asked for my brother, i told him who i was and told him that i would give the message to my brother but i don't talk with him much. He refused to tell me what the call was about and answered "no" when i suggested that he was a debt collector. I also asked him not to call MY phone again. I have received a call pretty much everyday since then and a message twice a week asking about my brother, discussing my mother and his conversations with her. He calls from private numbers. The last message he left from yesterday he said that >>I<< had until 4pm to give my brother the message?!!!! He also said that the days of me protecting and hiding my brother are over??!! He's called my mother, he's used an app I'm guessing, where my name would show up on her caller id when he would call, just to get her to answer the phone. He's called my mothers neighbor; not sure how he got that number, who she doesn't even talk with. They have also called my brothers workplace. Sorry for the long thread but i want to know what my best move is next. I used to ignore the calls but now I'm PISSED and feel harassed. Please chime in
First message left he identified himself as Mr Ortiz, every message since then it has been Mr Mendoza. NRG & Associates ??? just reviewed the messages and found that one out
In Texas your brother can sue under the Texas Debt Collection Practices Act. Check out: http://www.occc.state.tx.us/pages/consumer/education/DebtColl.htm
well the thing is the guy keeps calling MY phone... I have no business or debt with the guy but he refuses to stop calling ME. I believe he talked to a rep once at work and they threatened to have him arrested, but mostly I've been getting the calls
The answer about suing a debt collector is yes you can sue them based on the fair debt practices, but you have to follow the correct protocol. In short, the debt collector CAN harass you and the only way to make them stop doing it is to send them a cease and decease letter by certified mail. Once you do that, you have some power.
Are you sure your brother's debt is legit and that this debt collector is legit? IOW, you may want to make sure your brother didn't take a "loan" from an illegitimate source and that these folks that are calling you aren't going to come after your knee caps.
I used to get weekly calls from some debt collector for Sallie Mae. I have a new construction house so the address is obviously new. I am not sure if the phone number is recycled or not. Well I have no idea who they are calling about, prob someone who either gave them the wrong phone number by accident or lied on the loan application. Every time I tell them I am not the person they are looking for and they can look up the information in the phone book. They always tell me they would remove my name from the list but calls back the next week again. It took about a year before they finally stopped (not sure why). What a bunch of MORONS and JERKS.
Next time they call, tell them to hold on... put the phone down and go about your business. Or play video games or watch the TV and put the phone in front of the speakers. It also seemed like they were threatening you. If you could get a record of that... could that be used against them? Usually if someone is annoying me, I'd just act dumb and keep asking stupid questions like a 4 year old child. "what? I don't understand?" "why?" "what does that mean?" "why?" "how come?" "why?"
Debt collectors can NOT harass you. They are allowed to make a certain amount of calls during certain time frames and they are not allowed to mislead. (ie. threaten you with legal action over the phone). There is a pretty strict protocol they are required to follow. Read up on it and find out all the things he is violating. It seems like he is skirting the law by not identifying himself properly, so if you do come after him, he can be in complete denial. What I would suggest is to get a google voice number, give it to him and tell him that is your brothers contact number. When he calls, give him the assumption that you are your brother. Do not admit to the debt and do not out right say you are your brother. Try to get some hard proof of what agency he is working with. If you have some recorded calls, you can certainly get that agency is plenty of trouble.
They're the worst. Called my place looking for an employee FROM 3 YEARS AGO. I barely remembered who this was. I told them I have no clue where this person and it was 3 YEARS AGO but he didn't believe me, kept threatening me, yelling, and saying that I've got some debt of my own and they'll wave it if I give them info. Of course he doesn't even know who he's talking to and I'm also the last person to accuse of having debt. Anywho it probably ends after 2 weeks. But it's just so much time and energy to track it down especially when the callers can hide behind so many things.
Troll him back. Annoy the living **** out of him. Next time he calls, put on Rick Roll and stick the phone to your speakers.
