4 Ways to Stop Harassing Calls from Debt Collectors

Many people become targets of harassment from debt collectors through no fault of their own. They may have lost a job and been without a source of income to pay bills on time. They may have missed the deadline for a bill or had income tied up in other expenses. Regardless of the cause, many debt collectors resort to harassing phone calls, threatening messages and persistent behavior to collect for their clients. However, debtors are not without recourse and can take steps to protect themselves from such harassment.

Record Every Contact with Debt Collectors

Debtors should record the dates and times of all contacts with debt collectors, as well as recording as much of the content of those contacts as the law will allow. Debtors should save and copy every written contact from the collection agency. They should also take down the date and time of every phone call and make notes on any harassing, threatening or vulgar language used by the callers. This collection of documentation can be highly useful when confronting debt collectors in court.

Request a Validation Notice from Debt Collectors

A debt validation notice contains several pertinent points about a customer’s debt. The validation notice should include the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owned, the amount of the debt, and that the owing party has 30 days to repay the outstanding debt. Debt collectors are required by law to send a validation notice of the debt to the owing party within five days of the initial contact date. The law also requires all collection actions to stop after sending the validation notice. Debt collectors cannot continue pursuing the debtor until they verify the information on the original creditor, including that creditor’s name and address.

Verify the Debt’s Owner with Debt Collectors

In many instances, the debt collectors target their efforts toward innocent parties. These errors can result from mistaken information, clerical errors or identity theft. Targets of debt collectors should verify if the debt in question is theirs. If not, and the target suspects that he or she may be a victim of identity theft, the target can submit an Identity Theft Report and show that the he or she is not responsible for the debt.

Send a Certified Letter to Debt Collectors

Debtors can send a certified letter requesting that debt collectors no longer contact them regarding their outstanding debts. The debt collectors must sign for the certified letter as proof that they received the notice. However, the certified letter will not wipe out the debt, nor will its stop debt collectors from contacting the debtor if the debt collectors have chosen to pursue legal action. If the debt collectors choose to sue, the debtor can refer all contacts to his or her attorney

Know Your Rights

To find out how we can help you deal with harassing calls from debt collectors, contact us today at 1-888-252-4668 and our intake team will quickly connect you to a debt collection attorney, or fill out the “Free Case Review” form at the top of this page.