Collection agency calling most of my kids

amother

Tue, Dec 12 2023, 11:08 pm

My husband owns a credit card bill from years ago.
Recently the collection agency has been calling most of my kids single and married to give the message to my husband that he needs to call them.
They call everyday.
Is there a way to stop it? Are they even allowed to call? I have no clue how they got all my kids cell numbers.

amother

Kiwi

Wed, Dec 13 2023, 2:04 am

How old are your kids?
I'm pretty sure this is illegal and you could report them to the police for harassment. Discuss it with a lawyer. Children are not responsible for their parents debts.

amother

Tan

Wed, Dec 13 2023, 2:26 am

Something similar happened to me a few years ago.
It can be brutal.
The collection agency does a thorough research of all your relatives, neighbors etc- it’s something similar to the FBI.
They called my parents about my husband’s debt. Other relatives were called as well.
When I spoke to them they listed by name the neighbors who live on my street and threatened that they would call them.
I stopped answering unknown calls.
One day I see my husband’s name and cell phone number on the caller id. I was shocked when I answered to hear the voice of the interrogator from the collection agency. They somehow switched the caller id information to my husband’s info so I would pick up!
They constantly threatened that they would call my friends and family and tell them that we owed and didn’t pay. They named my friends. I I don’t know how they got those names. They asked me how I was related to distant relatives and said they would call them.This is a tactic they use.
And then one day the phone calls just stopped. I suppose the collection agency wasn’t getting paid anymore.

amother

Sienna

Wed, Dec 13 2023, 4:25 am

No! This is illegal. This is a violation of the FDCPA Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. They are only allowed to call a neighbor or relative once to help locate you. That is it. They cannot call the neighbor or relative again. They cannot discuss your debt with a neighbor or relative. They cannot threaten you with calling your neighbors if you don’t pay.

These are all violations and can actually make you significant money. Record each phone call. Reach out to a lawyer or agency specializing in in FDCPA. I think there are heimishe companies that do this for a cut of the penalty. You can sue them in federal court for this and collect money for EACH violation; they usually settle before it goes to trial.

At the very least you will get them off your back by threatening to sue them under FDCPA next time they call.