A collection agency called me and left a message about my neighbor's debt. Isn't that illegal?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’m not entirely sure what to do about it.

On the one hand, she should probably know that they called her neighbor (or possibly neighbors) so she can take action against them. On the other hand I don’t want to embarrass her with the fact that I know that a collection agency is pursuing her.

I live in the second floor apartment of a duplex, and she lives in the first floor apartment. We’re not related and our names are in no way similar.

Should I tell her? Should I just leave it alone?

Can I take some action against them myself? I despise these kinds of tactics and resent being put in the middle of this.

I’m not asking for legal advice. Just wondering if any of you have had any experiences with this kind of thing.

2

Did you confirm that your neighbor is in fact your neighbor? That may be what they were phishing for.

3

I didn’t talk to them and I don’t intend to. They left a voice message, and it was not in a very pleasant tone of voice.

He said that he was calling for neighbor’s name and that it was about a debt and that any information he gained could be used in the collection of that debt. It was worded almost like he expected to find her at my number, but I don’t see how that could be the case.

4

We got one of those a few months ago (about our neighbor).

Mizpullin is the manager of the centralized loan dept of a fair-sized financial institution here in Texas. As such she is extremely up to date on the relevant statutes involving debt collection. She took this call, and I got to listen as she spouted all the relevant code words and reached a supervisor, upon which she listed chapter and verse, all the various TX laws which were being either violated, ignored or skirted by these scum. She then listed (by name, position, and phone #) the particular governing bodies which would be hearing from her, along with our lawyer’s name and phone number. She concluded with a very convincing threat that “if you **EVER **call this number, or that of any of my neighbors again for *any *reason whatsoever” and went on to describe the veritable rain of shit that would fall upon their heads, etc. etc.

It was glorious to behold; And I think I fell in love all over again.:stuck_out_tongue:

I realize this doesn’t answer the OP’s question (different state). I just couldn’t resist telling the story.

5

There’s a law called something like the Fair Debt Collections Act, which does state that collection agencies can’t say that they’re calling about a debt, but it is OK for them to call neighbors to look for the person. I’ve heard that some places are outsourcing collections outside the country to get around the US laws.

Not that it helps when I get automated calls for my inlaws that never seem to have anyone answering if you pick up or try to call back…

6

He specifically stated that he was calling about a debt. It was like he was making a point of making that very clear. He gave an 800 number for calling back.

The phone number on my caller ID is within the country, although that probably doesn’t mean much these days.

I can see where they could outsource the calls, but it seems like the actual payment would go to someone in the U.S. and that company would be responsible for whatever laws are broken.

7

It’s extremely illegal, and the debt collector can be fined $1000 per incident plus legal fees. The Federal Fair Debt Collections Practices Act allows the debt collector to try to verify a person’s whereabouts, but they don’t get to discuss the fact that there’s a debt involved, only that it’s a “business matter”.

8

Is it possible that your neighbor might have used you as a reference on a loan? We ask for references that would know where our customer can be reached but aren’t co-signing on the loan. We’re allowed to contact the reference person if the customer is behind but we’re only allowed to ask if the reference person knows where the customer is. But the reference person usually can figure out why we’re calling anyways… :rolleyes:

9

I agree that the collector is phishing for information. Debtor clients whom I have helped in collections matters have reported that the collector “found” them by speaking with friends, neighbours, and co-workers. The collector typically doesn’t mention a debt, but during the conversation, does get enough information about the debtor’s habits, comings and goings, etc. that the collector can determine when the best times to call are.

I cannot speak to the legality of what the collector did in your situation, as I am not in the same jurisdiction and your laws likely differ from mine. But this kind of phishing is common enough everywhere, I’d guess.

10

Seconded; the person calling you disclosed information to a third-party not responsible for the debt and that’s a violation of the FDCPA if they did so knowingly (for example you don’t have the same name as the debtor or their cosigner.) If you can prove it, that’s cash in your pocket. I believe the FTC has an online form for you to fill out.

11

Really? Monetary payment goes to the person who the debt was revealed to? Not to the person who had the debt?

I wouldn’t have guessed that. Then again, I’m bad at guessing.
-D/a

12

If the intent of the law is to discourage debt collectors from doing this, that seems like the best way to go about it.

Who cares enough about the deadbeat down the hall to follow-up on these violations out of the goodness of their heart? Do I really want to have to go through the hassle to complain? I’m probably going to have to take time off work, aren’t I? Although I have enough information to conclude that the law has been broken by the collector, I don’t even know the nature of the debt. It might be something that could conceivably happen to anyone through a series of unfortunate circumstances, but maybe the guy’s just an irresponsible douchebag who doesn’t want to let his obligation to pay for six months’ worth of beer and on-demand porn eat into his budget for beer and on-demand porn. Do I really want to get involved in this situation for his benefit?

On the other hand, if I can parlay my knowledge of the violation into a $1,000 windfall… quick - get me the phone!

A quick look at the legislation specifies only that payments would be made to “the plaintiff,” but “plaintiff” is not specifically defined in the act, as near as I can make out.

13

One thing I know from working with parolees and ex-cons is collection agencies and telemarketers are one of the few industries that will hire them.

They have to be employed as conditions of parole or to get food stamps and such, so they take the job. Then the owner of the agency will tell them to do something illegal. Then of course, the action works or if they’re called on it, the agency owner says, “I didn’t tell them to do that. Typical criminal.” and they fire the guy.

Who then of course goes down the line to the next collection agency or telemarketer the aid office set them up with.

It’s just a blame shift.

14

Our experiences couldn’t be more different; the third-party debt collector I worked as a skiptracer* for required not only a ‘good’ credit score but a credit history that was free of delinquent accounts. I had to pay for and bring to my interview a background check free of criminal convictions from the state.
If one searches on Consumerist, one could find more than one article about someone making a living off suing debt collectors who don’t care to follow the letter of the FDCPA and it’s not hard to catch them. For a debtor being called, an easy trip up is to ask the debt collector how long something will remain on your credit report; if they’re too lazy to look up the statute of limitations for your particular state and guess wrong, that’s a violation.

*I was not a debt collector and this post is not an attempt to collect a debt; no information gathered from this thread will be used for that purpose.

15

I would not say anything to anybody. What they almost certainly want to do is embarrass your neighbor into paying and your silence defeats their goals. What a scummy business is debt collection.

16

Fair Debt Collections Practices Act

§ 804. Acquisition of location information

Any debt collector communicating with any person other than the consumer for the purpose of acquiring location information about the consumer shall—

(1) identify himself, state that he is confirming or correcting location information concerning the consumer, and, only if expressly requested, identify his employer;
(2) not state that such consumer owes any debt;
(3) not communicate with any such person more than once unless requested to do so by such person or unless the debt collector reasonably believes that the earlier response of such person is erroneous or incomplete and that such person now has correct or complete location information;

. . .

§ 805 (a) 1. (b) COMMUNICATION WITH THIRD PARTIES.

Except as provided in section 804, without the prior consent of the consumer given directly to the debt collector, or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, or as reasonably necessary to effectuate a postjudgment judicial remedy, a debt collector may not communicate, in connection with the collection of any debt, with any person other than a consumer, his attorney, a consumer reporting agency if otherwise permitted by law, the creditor, the attorney of the creditor, or the attorney of the debt collector.

FAQs

Do I have any recourse if I think a debt collector has violated the law?

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.

Where do I report a debt collector for an alleged violation?

Report any problems you have with a debt collector to your state Attorney General’s office (www.naag.org) and the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov). Many states have their own debt collection laws that are different from the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Your Attorney General’s office can help you determine your rights under your state’s law.

Pennsylvania’s Fair Credit Extension Uniformity Act

Debt collector & third party communications:

debt collectors may only contact third parties to ascertain your location/whereabouts
debt collectors may not reveal to third parties that you owe debt
17

I’ve been hearing “this is for purposes of collecting a debt” a lot on these “looking for (inlaw’s name)” calls lately, even in automated messages. I’m thinking I should start reporting them to Illinois’ AG office just because I want them to go away.

To the best of my understanding, collection agencies buy debts from companies. The company gets a certain amount from the initial sale, but nothing from the collection. An out-of-US agency probably wouldn’t be affected by the FDCP Act. I think.

18

A neighbour and I had a very unpleasant experience with a debt collector from a gas (household) company who was trying to find our former neighbours. I’m pretty certain it was the pre privatisation British Gas. We genuinely didn’t know where the neighbours had gone. Their house was foreclosed on and they had done a traditional flit owing money all over.

The very unpleasant debt collector wouldn’t believe we didn’t know where these people had gone – we really had no clue, I called them “the Friendlies” because they weren’t. He actually began to threaten us with cutting off our gas supply if we wouldn’t help him!

Both my very elderly neighbour and I were very upset. I called his employers to report him, however they said he was a very experienced employee and I must have been mistaken because he wouldn’t do that. Really wish I’d had the internet back then so I could have found out where to take it further.

19

Hell, I’m straight and married, and I am in love with Mizpullin now!

20

Get in line.

As to the OP, if you wanted to be nice, let the neighbor know that the collection agency did this, and that she might be able to get out of the debt and maybe even collect some cash as a settlement.

It might get messy to get in the middle. Or you could split the $1000.

Regards,
Shodan