I'm paying my lawyer Monday to file bankruptcy. I attempted to talk to one credit card company but I couldn't pay them what they wanted. So, I stopped answering my phone. About 4 months of not making payments and not answering my phone, the calls increased. I actually lost count of how many times one collector called. The calls start at 8am and won't stop until 9am. It started out once an hour, then it got to twice an hour. One night they wouldn't stop. They called 2 times an hour, every hour, all day long. They called at 8pm that night and every 5 minutes until 9pm they called. That's dedication.
Likely they are using a machine to make the calls. They also likely have a flat cost per month for all use of their phone system. This allows them to call more frequently without any real extra effort or expense. It's more difficult to prove harassment if you never answer the phone. If you were to answer and tell them you don't want any more calls today and they continued to call, that would be the sort of thing that might be some sort of FDCPA (etc.) violation, although exact numbers of calls are not, that Dumb Bob knows of, defined specifically as "harassing".
I'd look into telecommunications or internet cyberstalking, or other harassment laws to see if that type of calling is permitted or not. FDCPA only applies to 3rd party collectors, not the OC.
Here's the law: A creditor is allowed to call up to six times PER day PER account PER phone number IF you do not answer and identify yourself. So if you have one credit card, they can call your home and business number 12 times total. Multiply that by the number of delinquent accounts you have and that easily explains the high call volume. Remember: picking up the phone and saying "stop calling" doesn't qualify. You MUST identify yourself. If you ID yourself, that particular company can no longer call you that day. Most will not call you for 4 days following. The best thing you can do is answer every few days and just give them an update. If you stop answering all together, they will think the number is bad and start searching for new numbers. They might find a cell phone number, a former residence, a former employer, etc. All the while still calling the old number.
I'm going on basic FDCPA guidelines taught at my place of employment (which I will not name). I might have been hasty to imply that all creditors would follow this - I've since learned that a lot of the FDCPA is up to interpretation by whatever the legal department of that particular creditor says. For my company, it's six times per day per number per account unless someone answers. The only thing the FDCPA is specific about is the time frame (8am-9pm), not the number of calls.
And, regardless of what your employer says or does, original creditors are not subject to the FDCPA. If they choose to follow those rules, fine. But the law does not require it, and I'd venture to guess that most OCs don't follow it.
