ok - playing a little devils advocate here (so don't jump down my throat). this guy calls you and leaves a couple messages. you don't call him back. so he calls a neighbor and leaves name and number (because he doesn't know if it is the right number). how is this humiliating? if you had called him back, he wouldn't have had to call your neighbor. and as long as he doesn't identify that he is trying to collect a debt he is within the law to do so. (just trying to point out the CA's reasoning - not saying i agree with the tactic)
sole proprietors assume all responsibility of debt incurred on a personal level. meaning they can't hide behind a LLC or Corp to avoid it on their personal reports (hubby is somewhat self employed). to what extend you are protected under consumer - i don't know exactly. sole proprietors use SSN as their TIN. does it say in your contract if it is secured against purchases? my husband has one where if he were to default they could come take what was purchased even though it is "technically" unsecured.
Re: Re: CA (URS) Contacting My Neighbors This might answer your question - here's the definition of a debt per the FDCPA (5) The term "debt" means any obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to pay money arising out of a transaction in which the money, property, insurance or services which are the subject of the transaction are primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, whether or not such obligation has been reduced to judgment.
Re: Re: CA (URS) Contacting My Neighbors Just as a follow-up -- I notified these guys that I had reported them to the FTC in Texas (which I did) for FDCPA violations. I also filed a report with Colorado's AG. Haven't heard from them since. No tradeline on CR's. We'll see... Thanks all for the great info...
Learning here.... So from what I'm reading here, if a CA knows your contact information, they can't contact others to locate you? Does this also apply to an OC? While I no longer have the account, we use to have an OC that would contact our references to locate us if we were even a week late in paying. Just wondering....... Thanks for all the great info posted in this thread. Shanyl
Shanyl, I'm not sure about the OC, but acc. to FDCPA rules the CA cannot contact any third parties about you (employers, family, neighbors) other than to verify contact information.
Re: Re: Re: CA (URS) Contacting My Neighbors well, his tactic worked, didn't it? you could/should have done one or two things...return his calls or send a C&D...by not returning his calls, he is within his legal rights to contact neighbors/references. now, what he discussed wasn't exactly ethical (but you didn't state that in your OP) however the law only states that he can't say he is collecting a debt.
Re: Re: Re: CA (URS) Contacting My Neighbors FWIW, I was sued directly once (long story short) because this lady wouldn't return calls or pick up the correspondence sent CRRR. so i had called her landlord to find out if she still resided there, as well as her place of employment. she lost in court.
Re: Re: Re: Re: CA (URS) Contacting My Neighbors No, I think the law says more than that. Read it again. A debt collector cannot ask personal information beyond contact details, nor can they request that the third party deliver any messages to you. I'm mystified as to why you would defend this CA?
: CA (URS) Contacting My Neighbors Jenz, the CA already had our telephone number and presumably our address. Bottom line, this CA had no legal right to contact our neighbor.
Re: Re: Re: Re: CA (URS) Contacting My Neighbors the FDCPA statees: 804. Acquisition of location information [15 USC 1692b] Any debt collector communicating with any person other than the consumer for the purpose of acquiring location information about the consumer shall -- (1) identify himself, state that he is confirming or correcting location information concerning the consumer, and, only if expressly requested, identify his employer; (2) not state that such consumer owes any debt; (3) not communicate with any such person more than once unless requested to do so by such person or unless the debt collector reasonably believes that the earlier response of such person is erroneous or incomplete and that such person now has correct or complete location information; (4) not communicate by post card; (5) not use any language or symbol on any envelope or in the contents of any communication effected by the mails or telegram that indicates that the debt collector is in the debt collection business or that the communication relates to the collection of a debt; and (6) after the debt collector knows the consumer is represented by an attorney with regard to the subject debt and has knowledge of, or can readily ascertain, such attorney's name and address, not communicate with any person other than that attorney, unless the attorney fails to respond within a reasonable period of time to the communication from the debt collector. *************************** I did not say that the other questions he asked weren't ethical, but you didn't specifically state what they asked - it could have very well been location information. i am not defending the CA, simply pointing out facts - what do you want me to say?
Re: : CA (URS) Contacting My Neighbors again, because you didn't contact them after they called/wrote one could assume the information was incorrect and therefore could argue they did have legal right to do so. not defending the CA, again, i answered your question and you didn't like my answer. i'm simply pointing out their argument (regardless of if i agree with it or not). so sue them already then...
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: CA (URS) Contacting My Neighbors where does the FDCPA state that they can't leave a message for you? i read what jam posted, but i don't see where it says that.
Re: Re: : CA (URS) Contacting My Neighbors Jenz, when the CA called, he left his first name and a telephone number. That's it. No company name. It sounded like an unsolicited sales call for a timeshare, which, quite frankly, we don't return in our household. The CA only called twice -- maybe 3 times. Those are not grounds for calling our neighbor to verify our contact information. You say you are not defending the CA, but you suggest that it was my fault for not returning the CA's calls or sending them a C&D (which was impossible since I had no company name or address...) Your role playing the devil's advocate makes no sense to me. There were no grounds for the CA contacting my neighbor and the FTC and the Colorado AG's office agreed. It's just another instance of unethical, aggressive (& illegal) tactics on the part of an out-of-control bottom feeding CA... Why you don't see that is beyond me, but clearly you are entitled to you opinions on the matter.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: CA (URS) Contacting My Neighbors Reread Jam's post. She quotes FDCPA Section 806... Number 2. Unsolicited calls to third parties. A debt collector may not leave telephone messages with neighbors when the debt collector knows the consumer's name and telephone number and could have reached him directly.
Re: Re: Re: CA (URS) Contacting My so you want to sue, but what proof do you have? are you going to bring the neighbor in and have them testify? wouldn't you find that more embarassaing?
Re: Re: Re: CA (URS) Contacting My Jenz, I'm not interested in suing. I filed complaints with the FTC and the CO AG's office. That's all the time I'm willing to give this -- I have bigger issues/problems in my life than this right now. If URS resurfaces and causes me more trouble, I have a file started and may rethink suing them then. I raised these issues to clarify the rules around this issue and for the benefit of other posters here, so that they know this activity is illegal.
