Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Question

This company contacted me in December regarding an outstanding debt I owed. We briefly discussed that I owed the debt, and the lady informed me that I would be sent information on how to pay it. Yay.

So a couple weeks go by, and I got nothing, so I take up the bat and call them back. I speak with a receptionist, ask for the lady with whom I’d spoken to before, and she informs me that “my case is now being handled by a Mr. X”. So, I get transferred to Mr. X, whose voicemail indicates that he is “away from his desk, and is only available from 11 AM to 1 PM, Tuesday through Thursday”. The times I’m in class.

I ask the receptionist if there’s anyone else I can speak to, but she says that they have strict rules regarding who I can speak to about my account. I leave him a message, and expect a return call. I get nothing for, oh, a week.

So I call back. It’s now mid-January, and my account is now “being handled by a Mrs. X”. So, I get transferred to her, and she informs me that they have been trying to call me during 11 and 1 every day for a week. Some quick logic returns that, doh, the way my telephone service is set up on campus, I am not able to receive unknown callers as a telemarketing block. I tell her this, and ask that, under the FDCPA, we correspond via regular mail (both because I am busiER during HER hours – Monday through Wednesday, 10AM til 2PM, and because I want to start keeping a paper trail).

She takes my address and says that something will come.

So… I let 2 weeks go by, and call back. I actually manage to find a time to call Mrs. X where I am not in class AND it’s during her hours. Unfortunately, during her hours, she’s gone to lunch. I leave her a message, clearly stating my request to be contacted by mail, and leave my address. A week goes by.

That brings us roughly to now. This morning, at like 8:10AM, I get an e-mail from the DEAN OF STUDENTS OFFICE, who tells me the following:

A valid e-mail, and I’m like – WTF? So now, I’ve skipped the class I should be in right now to call back this charming woman who has refused to contact me via mail and has now contacted the Dean’s Office threatening legal action, AND SHE’S NOT AT HER DESK.

Has this company violated some kind of law? Specifically, doesn’t the FDCPA specifically state that I can tell the agency that I do not wish to receive phone calls and, instead, ask that they send me mail? And isn’t it illegal for them to continue calling me after I’ve done so?

Further, is it legal for them to call the Dean’s Office and threaten me with litigation because I have not received any of their calls?

Thanks guys… if this is more Pitworthy, feel free to move it.

Check out the link below:

FTC Brochure

It should have all the answers.

Get Mrs. X’s address and send her a request to contact you only via mail. Send it certified and keep a copy.

Good luck.

Pay your bill.

I don’t have the answer to your legal question but as a practical matter, the next time you try to reach one of these idiots and they’re not there, get a supervisor on the line.

Couple things:

  1. The FDCPA only covers actions by debt collectors. If it is the original creditor you are dealing with your protections come only from your state’s law. The rest of my points assume the company is a debt collector.

  2. The FDCPA does not permit you to specify the method of communication, though your request was clearly reasonable. You can request that they not contact you at all by sending them a letter.

  3. The FTC has an Online complaint form You can paste that e-mail right into the form.

  4. You can also complain to your state attorney general about collection activities.

  5. Here is a good website with FDCPA forms and people to talk to about creditor harrassment.

  6. Here is some more information.

  7. If you want specific legal advice about your problem, you should contact a lawyer in your state. I am not your lawyer, and you are not my client.

Good luck