A debt collector keeps calling me at 9:30 PM can I stop them?
Dealing with debt collectors can be one of the most aggravating experiences anyone can deal with. My profession is to deal with these people every day. There are some folks in the debt collection industry that genuinely want to help people, but more often than not it’s been my experience that there are debt collectors who do malicious things in an attempt to collect debt.
When I was a debt collector it was pretty clear to me that I could catch more flies with honey, but that was always my style as I was never one who was going to be abusive to a debtor, but I was in the minority, even though the collection agency was based in the a place that prided itself on being polite and genteel.
I recently got a phone call from someone who did not become my client. They didn’t really need to be. They owed about $900 to BellSouth, a telephone company that as you probably guessed is based in the Southeast United States. This bills was owed from back in college in 2006 and this debt collectors had a habit of calling my client every night around 9:30 PM. We ascertained that this debt collector was based in Alabama which is in central daylight time or an hour behind us, so when it is 8:30 PM there it is 9:30 PM here.
According to The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), debt collectors are only allowed to call at times that are not considered inconvenient. As a general rule, The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) allows debt collectors to call between 8 AM and 9 PM where the debtor is located.
So it would appear that we had a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), but it’s important to be able to prove that there has been some sort of malicious behavior behind the violation, meaning that that collection agency can’t be making what could be considered an honest mistake. The law itself doesn’t specifically require malicious behavior for there to be a violation, there are very few judges that will find for a plaintiffs against a collection agency that was just making an honest mistake.
The woman never got rid of their Alabama cell phone number. Her phone number had a 205 area code. 205 is an area code for northern Alabama, which is in the central time zone, so the debt collector was making an honest mistake calling at 9:30 PM because this debt collector thought they were calling in Alabama phone, and in Alabama it was only8:30 PM.
You hear advertisements on the radio, especially around here, about secret ways to get rid of your debt. Some will also advertise about actually suing and reclaiming money from the debt collection agencies. Others will talk about how Congress has given credit card company so much money that they need to clear their books and they’re going to give you a discount on what you owed them. My father used to say if it sounds too good to be true it probably is and while I’m not saying these advertisements are misleading, I’m not not saying it either.
There are plenty of legitimate Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) violations to go around, we don’t need to be making them up. The woman decided she wanted to keep her Alabama phone number. We were able to talk to BellSouth and negotiate a settlement for less than the original amount owed. I did that one for free, it was a short phone call, an opportunity to deal with a creditor I hadn’t dealt with in the past, and away or me to do a good deed. A few days later BellSouth sent a letter with an offer which the young lady accepted.
If you find yourself with a lot more than $900 worth of debt and you’re not sure about bankruptcy or debt settlement but you would like more information, please call my office at 484-661-2891 or e-mail me at jim@padebt911.comand we can set up an appointment for a free consultation.
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