My local paper had the following entry in their Police Reports section. ================= A local woman reported Saturday she keeps receiving harassing phone calls from a collection agency. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Is she onto something ? Perhaps they should be persued under criminal charges of harassment and telephone harassment.
Shell Canada's collector threatened to come to my house and GET the money from me as he saw fit. If that meant he was going to beat it out of me then he would do it. If that is not harrassment I don't know what is. I had been taping the CA calls and gave the tape to the cops. All they could say was " you are 6ft 5inches tall - are you really scared of this guy?"
In PA there is a section in the crimes code for crimes committed by collection agencies. I almost filed a criminal charges against a certian collector a few years ago for breaking this law. He had refused to abide by my letter to cease calling me, which I did have a receipt for. This guy called my wife at her work, she was under no obligation to pay as it was strictly my debt, this guy had her in tears and histerical stating I was a deadbeat and when are we gonna expect payment from you for your deadbeat husband. He stated he would have her and me arrested, etc... He then called my neighbors telling them about the debt and how I was a deadbeat, he even had a neighbor come to my residence and knock on the door with the phone when I had blocked their number. He called my employer constantly and would talk to anyone who would listen. I don't have a problem naming this company or the person who did this..... Transworld Systems, INC. 460 Norristown rd, ste 100 Blue Bell, PA, 19422 610-834-7363 Collection Creep and harasser....John Cane I finally got the attorney general involved and as luck would have it, the calls stopped immediately and the account was removed from all of my credit reports. I have not heard from them since! If I would have known then what I know now, Boy!! I'd be a very rich man!!! I also would have filed the criminal charges in a heartbeat against this John Cane for his illegal acts. If you ever get contacted by TransWorld I would suggest you document everything and send the cease and desist out right away....They have no respect for the law or your rights! Tac
I had a CA "ABC in Phoenix, AZ" threaten the life of my lawyer's secretary when she refused to divulge personal information about me. He would go insane on the phone and start screaming and yelling and threatening me and anyone. He was collecting for FirstUSA. It was because of him I hired a lawyer. It was also because of him that I taught myself my rights and what I can do. I also decided then and there that FirstUSA will never see a penny of the money I owe them. They lost off credibility with me, and not "It's personal". On the same thread, I do use the threat of criminal prosecution to shut down CA's. I look at it this way: Some bozo I've never heard of starts calling me demanding that I send them money or they are going to hurt me. That is extortion. I tell them so, and I also tell them that I am going to report them to the police for attempted extortion and fraud. They usually don't know how to answer that because most people feel really guilty and will send money to whomever calls and demands it.
Making "annoying and harassing phone calls" IS illegal (In CA, violation 653m p.c.). Cops don't really like to take these, you MUST insist. They will try to talk you out of it and blow it off, stand firm!!! Basically, to constitute harassment you have to have told them not to call. Any subsequent calls are considered harassment.
Yes, the cops do not like to take or file charges in regards to collection agencies. I think they believe it is a matter for the AG Consumer protection office or a civil matter. The cop did not want to do his job even when I showed him the actual criminal section for my state. He said I would have to go to the jurisdiction and file a private criminal complaint with the DA's office. Not know much back then I did not pursue criminal charges like I would today. Tac
