Bellsouth

Gary Olshan PC is horrible! Send them a C&D immediately. CMRR, file complaints with the AG, Bar Assoc. FTC, BBB. A friend of mine went round and round with them, and I won.

 

"The attorneys office has been calling her, when she told them not to call her anymore, they told her they would not stop calling her since I had given them that phone number."

You might also contact your local DA, who might have time to look into the matter if your state AG doesn't.

Harassing and threatening to continue harassing your 80 year old mother by phone, especially as a tactic to collect money allegedly owed by someone else not even listed at that number, may cross the line from civil FDCPA violations, into criminal elder abuse or attempted extortion.

This threat has NOTHING to do with embarassing YOU into paying thru third party notification, even though it is an FDCPA violation for that as well, since they have already done that. Since she has already told them not to call her, which she has every right to do, continued calls to her, and threats of more calls, are either an attempt to get HER to pay a debt she does not owe, or an attempt to get YOU to pay by the implied threat to her health of their continued harassment of HER.


Debt collectors are fully aware that they may have a better chance in extracting payment from an elder parent instead of the alleged debtor, if they could get away with it. This one thinks he can get away with it.


Here is an example of a complaint filed by the Illinois AG against Arrow, in which under IL law, an additional $10K penalty is sought, beyond other penalties under state and Federal law, for violations where the consumer was over 65. Your state may have similar laws.
See page 21:
http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/pressroom/2007_01/arrow_financial_complaint.pdf

 

It's really not important unless you want to make a big point of it. They will violate the C&D order as they did with a friend of mine. Just keep everything documented very well. Before the signature part just include that they are boardering harrassment calling your 80 y/o mother when she has repeatedly asked them to stop calling.

 

Note that your decision on whether to send a C&D, or any other communications such as a dispute and request for validation on the debt, is actually entirely separate from their on-going harassment of your mother, and any actions that may be taken by any parties, whether DA, AG, or an attorney representing your mother to stop that further harassment.

Harassing your mother is not a legal tactic to get payment from you, for which you could sue as an FDCPA violation whether you had sent a C&D or not. The violation of a C&D only simplifies proving harassment.

It is also separately an FDCPA violation for which your mother could sue separately, and for which DAs and AGs can prosecute whether she can protect herself or not.


Separate from the issue of harassing your mother, how old, and how legitimate, is the alleged debt? How much money is involved, and would you want to dispute and request validation, if there wasn't also the issue of harassment of your mother involved?

 

The "30-days" starts with your initial communication with the collection agency. If they have never contacted you, then the clock hasn't started. If they did, then they need to send you the "5-day" letter that outlines the basic info of the debt and your rights to dispute/verify the debt.

While you can "choose not to work with a collection agency" as that is certainly your right, but if the OC has turned over the account to a CA, they'll probably not be able to do anything and just tell you to contact the CA. If the OC as assigned the debt to the CA, it belongs to the CA, not the OC.

RE: communications, according to the FDCPA, all you need to say is that you want all future comminications to be in writing. After that, each phone call is a violation so keep good records.

Good luck!

 

There is NOTHING to stop you from requesting validation, and particularly if you believe the debt, or it's amount, is in error, you should do so. If you do not do so within 30 days of receiving their letter that notified you of those rights, then they assume the debt is valid, which is NOT the same as making it valid. If your validation request is not timely, they may continue collection, but failing to dispute or request validation, whether timely or not, is NOT to be construed by any court as an admission by the debtor that the debt is valid.

If you request validation within 30 days, they cannot assume the debt is valid, and they must stop collection activities until they obtain validation from the OC and send it to you. If they continue collection without sending validation, then they have violated FDCPA, for which you can sue. In addition, if you have notified them that you dispute the debt, they MUST mark any TL they place on your credit reports as "disputed".

If they failed to send you notification, then how would you as an unsophisticated consumer even know you had those rights? The 30 days starts from when you RECEIVE that letter notifying you of your rights.
If they claim to have sent it, but you never received it, again you would not know you had those rights, so you would dispute and request validation whenever you found out you could. Similarly, if they had convinced you that you had no such right to do so, overshadowing whatever they may have put in their letter.

It is not uncommon for some CAs to either not send such a letter, or to know they sent it to some other address, and then claim that because 30 days has passed since they allegedly sent it, that you no longer have any right to dispute the debt, so you have to pay it. Your strongest position is to dispute and request validation within 30 days of their initial letter, but that time starts when you RECEIVE that letter.

The purpose of disputing and requesting validation is to allow the consumers and debt collectors to resolve issues of whether it is their debt, or what the proper amount is, short of going to court, but it is in no way a substitute for what a court might decide.

 

If the account is still owned by the OC, and only assigned to the CA, it would also be appropriate to put the OC on notice that the CA has repeatedly contacted your mother by phone, disclosed your alleged debt to her, and threatened to continue harassing her by phone unless they get paid. Demand that they stop. Send CRRR, to their executive offices.

This is for 2 purposes:
1) They may pull the debt back to reduce their legal exposure, stopping the harassment, and opening the possibility of settling directly with them.
2) If it continues, and your mother has to hire an attorney, and maybe you have to hire a separate attorney, it may be helpful to have 2 pockets to go after.