Consumers should not incur additional costs for cell phone calls, texting or voice messaging in relation to collections. The more costs assessed to a debtor, the less money they have to pay their creditors. Debt collectors and creditors should be required to stop all modes of communication to a device that the debtor indicates does not provide free communications whether calls or texts.
That's not true in my experience. Unethical debt collectors just ignore requests now.
Most consumers also don't know that debt collectors can call you to collect a debt on any phone number you have used to contact the company or provided the company. So calling your credit card company from your best friend's home phone, your neighbor's phone, or your relative's house puts their phone numbers on your contact list. This practice needs to be changed to protect the confidentiality of the debt collection process.
You are a liar! I have been harassed for over 5 years by companies looking for someone I have never heard of because this person put a random string of our area code, local exchange and 4 numbers together (that turned out to be my number) on a loan that he then defaulted on. I have told them to stop calling, they have a wrong number, and guess what??? 5 Years later, they are still calling!
Because it it the consumer's phone and that is their right! Why should the consumer pay to be harassed?! Put the cost of doing this business where it belongs, which is on the companies not the consumers! I pay for my cell phone, I pay for the minutes, and I am the person that will decide how they are used and who will call me, not these shady, nasty companies! Which one do you work for by the way?
Right now collectors are legally required to stop phone contact when notified by the consumer. They do not stop. And the law is not enforced. Reporting violations to regulators does nothing except get the complainant into some sort of database, and the regulators are never heard from again. There are decent laws on the books. It's the enforcement that is a failure.
bonzarel
1
Consumers should not incur additional costs for cell phone calls, texting or voice messaging in relation to collections. The more costs assessed to a debtor, the less money they have to pay their creditors. Debt collectors and creditors should be required to stop all modes of communication to a device that the debtor indicates does not provide free communications whether calls or texts.
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Cindy L.
2
That's not true in my experience. Unethical debt collectors just ignore requests now. Most consumers also don't know that debt collectors can call you to collect a debt on any phone number you have used to contact the company or provided the company. So calling your credit card company from your best friend's home phone, your neighbor's phone, or your relative's house puts their phone numbers on your contact list. This practice needs to be changed to protect the confidentiality of the debt collection process.
View this comment in the discussion thread
DianeMathers
3
You are a liar! I have been harassed for over 5 years by companies looking for someone I have never heard of because this person put a random string of our area code, local exchange and 4 numbers together (that turned out to be my number) on a loan that he then defaulted on. I have told them to stop calling, they have a wrong number, and guess what??? 5 Years later, they are still calling!
View this comment in the discussion thread
DianeMathers
4
Because it it the consumer's phone and that is their right! Why should the consumer pay to be harassed?! Put the cost of doing this business where it belongs, which is on the companies not the consumers! I pay for my cell phone, I pay for the minutes, and I am the person that will decide how they are used and who will call me, not these shady, nasty companies! Which one do you work for by the way?
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Lori
5
Right now collectors are legally required to stop phone contact when notified by the consumer. They do not stop. And the law is not enforced. Reporting violations to regulators does nothing except get the complainant into some sort of database, and the regulators are never heard from again. There are decent laws on the books. It's the enforcement that is a failure.
View this comment in the discussion thread