# Debt call for family member - can I tell them to go away? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 27, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debt-call-for-family-member-can-i-tell-them-to-go-away/583481 "2011-05-27T20:34:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debt-call-for-family-member-can-i-tell-them-to-go-away/583481/1 "2011-05-27T20:34:59Z")
I’m in the US. I’ve been getting collection calls for bills owed by a relative. This is apparently the original creditor calling - it isn’t a collection agency, so it appears that they are not bound by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This company makes it very clear to me that my family member is not paying and expects me to help. I did NOT co-sign any agreement. What rights do I have to tell these people to get bent? ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debt-call-for-family-member-can-i-tell-them-to-go-away/583481/2 "2011-05-27T20:41:23Z")
You have no legal obligation to help them collect the debt. Tell them so, and tell them if they continue contacting you in regards to debt that is not yours you will contact the authorities for harrassment. > **[Debt Collection Answers](https://debtcollectionanswers.com/)** > > All In One Place ---
**Author:** ![Al\_Bundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@Al\_Bundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al_Bundy)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debt-call-for-family-member-can-i-tell-them-to-go-away/583481/3 "2011-05-27T20:50:55Z")
You certainly don’t even have to talk. You took that upon yourself to do so. You may also have legal ground for action, but you have no damages. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debt-call-for-family-member-can-i-tell-them-to-go-away/583481/4 "2011-05-27T21:01:35Z")
Yes, you can tell them to go away…and they probably will. They will also probably package the debt and sell it to someone else in six months and then they will call you and the cycle will continue. A friend once put me down as a reference (not a co-signer) on a loan. The bank never even bothered to check said reference. Fifteen years later, I still get calls about it. I haven’t even seen the friend in around five years and I have no idea where he is now. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debt-call-for-family-member-can-i-tell-them-to-go-away/583481/5 "2011-05-27T21:08:01Z")
When my brother died. he owed almost everyone money. I got a call from a collection agency a few months after he died looking for me to pay the stuff off. I hadn’t cosigned or anything. I think they were calling me because I was the one who signed to get the body released. I told them that all further communication must go through my lawyer and gave his phone number. Neither of us heard from them again. I think the collection people just fish for suckers who will feel obligated to pay. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debt-call-for-family-member-can-i-tell-them-to-go-away/583481/6 "2011-05-27T21:35:46Z")
My sister used to pull this crap on me all the time. I just tell the caller that I am not aware of or responsible for my sister’s debts, period, and never agreed to be a reference. I have yet to get a call twice from a single creditor. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debt-call-for-family-member-can-i-tell-them-to-go-away/583481/7 "2011-05-27T21:51:12Z")
I think (and I am by no means an expert) that unless the person in question was a spouse (common-law or otherwise), you have no obligation to pay debts that you didn’t co-sign for. A quick, hopefully inexpensive chat with a lawyer might give you the proper forms to send to the creditors to make it clear that you will never pay a debt you aren’t responsible for and they are legally obligated to leave you alone. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debt-call-for-family-member-can-i-tell-them-to-go-away/583481/8 "2011-05-27T22:02:13Z")
Tell them that whatever you recover from your relative, you keep 90% as a recovery fee, and that you require the agreement to be in writing and signed by their president/owner/higher-up. It will get old real fast. ---
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/debt-call-for-family-member-can-i-tell-them-to-go-away/583481/9 "2011-05-27T22:09:59Z")
Sallie Mae called me to collect student loans made to ex-husbands stepdaughter. We have been divorced for over 20 years and I took back my maiden name at that time. We do not have any children together. He never lived at this address or phone number. I have never met 2nd wife or stepdaughter. What really surprised me was that Sallie Mae hadn’t found him first; I gave them his phone number and address.