I don't know what to say to my friend about debt collectors
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
United States
June 22, 2012 3:25pm CST
Today a friend of mine said she got a call from a debt collector. She talked like the collector was somewhat threatening. I asked did they threaten you, and she said no.. but they wanted to know what kind of money she made, and she admitted to the collector that she got disability. The collector then asked her where her disability went.. to her checking or savings account. She said she should have told her (the collector) to not call her and she wasn't talking to her... but she told her that her disability came to her checking.
Now my friend is very upset and thinking they will freeze her checking account. She said that if they freeze her account she will be homeless if she can't pay her rent and stuff. She won't be able to live if she can't pay to support herself.
I've been through similar, but I paid mine off over time. My friend said she wouldn't have any money at all to pay them until after September when she got her check. She said she was so financially stressed right now she couldn't pay anything.
My friend was almost crying when she was talking to me. She asked me a bunch of questions that I don't know how to answer. I can't help her. I've got my own problems cause I'm financially stressed. Anyway, I told my friend that debt collectors are trained to sound threatening and they want to frighten you. I told her that they would have to get a court order to freeze her checking account... that they couldn't just do it cause they want to.
Your thoughts? My friend is probably as bad off financially as I am if not worse. She pays everything she has money to pay. She can't write a check for money she doesn't have in her account... it's like a duh.. moment.
I can commiserate, because I've sort of been there before.
She isn't a bad person... she was with her boyfriend for a long time.. they lived together for years and then he just left her for someone else.. so now she doesn't have the ability to pay the balance owed on her debt.
I told her that debt collectors don't care about her situation. They just want to get you to pay the money because that's how they get paid. They get a piece of it.
So... I'm just wondering how bill collectors work... can they invade her checking account and freeze it so that she will be homeless? If she can't access her money when it comes in, she can't pay her rent on her apartment. She can't get food or pay for the utilities in her apartment either... it could be horrible for her.
Anyone know about this kind of thing?
6 people like this
16 responses
@mariakelly42 (54)
•
23 Jun 12
My mom has been harassed by these debt collectors as well over a $5000 debt that she owed. I don't know how she got to owe them that much money, but that's in any case beside the point. Now, she's being asked to pay only $300 of the total balance because she didn't give in to their threats.
I think these threats and harassment are just psychological warfare. These debt collectors really don't have much of legal powers and are just making up for it with hot air. I don't think it'll work with people who know their rights.
Cheers~ I hope your friend gets rid of those annoying people once and for all.
3 people like this
@GardenGerty (162868)
• United States
24 Jun 12
Debt collectors buy debt from places that have already written off the debt. They pay pennies on the dollar, gambling that they will get more from you than they spent. Then they harass and threaten to scare people. Even when they get a judgement, they really do not have any power to enforce it. I think most people want to pay what they owe, but find themselves unable to.
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
10 Oct 12
Of course they are harrasement and threats. They are trying to scare people into giving them info to access their money. Problem is people believe them! They don't have as much power as they say they have or intimidate you that they have... but what they say scares people cause people don't know their rights and all.
And NEVER offer to pay partial over the phone. If there is an aggrement made of settlement...say fine, send me a bill. When you get the bill...get a money order and stipulate on the MO "Paid in Full". THen send that back. Once they cash that MO...the deal is done. Because it said "pad in full" and they cashed it...that is the same as them agreeing that it was paid in full. They can't go back and say you owe more. NEVER send them a personal check or pay with a credit/debit card. once they have those numbers...they can either take out more than you agreed on or do it again.
The only way they can get anything from you is if they go to court and get a judgement..and even then it goes on your credit report or as a lein on you house if you have one. And even then.. you have to be able to contest it at the court before it goes on your record. If they don't..they you go to court and can say you were not notified of this and the judge will usually take it off as a judgement and make them start over and make arrangements with you and then come back to court for him to approve it.
But the best thing to do in these cases...is....get a new checking/savings account at a different bank and change your phone number.
1 person likes this
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
10 Oct 12
What does one say or respond to a judgment when one gets served. They have to go to court. They can't just ignore it can they?
@randylovesdar (4932)
• United States
23 Jun 12
Your friend should obtain a free copy of her credit reports because she is entitled to one once a year and see what is on there and how old they are. I know that I have one debt and will be paying it off. I know that the debt collector cannot record you without permission and if they ask you do have the right refuse to be recorded. I know that if you tell them to not call you anymore they have to respect that and can no longer call. If your friend did give out her bank account information the first thing she needs to do is close the account and open a new account so the company cannot take money out. If she does decide to pay them she should pay via money order so the company cannot get more money from her. They cannot freeze the account unless they have a court order (and please be sure that she gets a case number because a debt collector will tell her that they have one and in most cases they really do not have one). We have been fighting with debt collectors ourselves because Randy's ex wife is still using his SSN in order to get credit and we had written letters to the three credit bureaus and they have taken it off Randy's credit report once we proved that Randy and his ex are divorced (luckily we kept his divorce decree).
3 people like this
@FrugalMommy (1438)
• United States
23 Jun 12
PointlessQuestions, you're entitled to one free copy of your credit report from each of the three bureaus once every 12 months. The only website to get that free report from is www.annualcreditreport.com Any of the others that want your credit card number are really just trying to sucker people into signing up for their monthly credit monitoring services.
You won't get a credit score with your report(s) when you get them through the site above, but it will show all of your accounts and their statuses. If you want a general idea of how your credit score looks, you can sign up for free at www.creditkarma.com and see what your TransUnion score is. Generally the score Credit Karma shows is pretty close to your FICO score.
I use Credit Karma at least once a month and request one of my three reports every four months so I can monitor my credit all year. 
2 people like this
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
23 Jun 12
Yes she should. I've never even seen my own credit report. Every time I try to see it they want my credit card number.
@AmbiePam (96760)
• United States
23 Jun 12
Why she told them anything I do not know. But I don't believe they can do anything to her. She didn't give them her bank account number. I'm pretty sure they can't take anything out of her account without her permission or legal action. And if she's on disability I doubt legal action would be taken.
3 people like this
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
23 Jun 12
The mire I read the mire I feel better for her.
1 person likes this
@GemmaR (8517)
•
23 Jun 12
It is horrible when things like this happen, and it makes me remember that it is very important that you never get yourself into that kind of situation. If she is in trouble, then she needs to sort it out, because things aren't going to get any better for her. If they know for sure that she can't pay the money right now, then they might be able to come to some kind of agreement, but things have obviously gone too far already if she's let things get to this stage. We should always live within our means so that we don't get into this situation, because it is very horrible when it gets this far.
3 people like this
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
10 Oct 12
Exactly! We all should live within our means. I try to. I have lots of medical bills that I can't pay. I send $5 and $10 a month. I won't live long enough to to pay some of them off. I have insurance but I still have to pay 20% of the bill. They don't harass me though.
@FrugalMommy (1438)
• United States
22 Jun 12
Tell your friend not to worry. Many federal benefits including Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, and a few different types of disability income are exempt from garnishment. For the bill collector to go after her checking account, I think that they have to have won a judgement against her in court and have a court order saying that they can have the money. They shouldn't just be able to go in and take the money.
If this is the first time they've contacted her, they legally have to send her a validation notice showing the full amount she supposedly owes within five days. That notice has to include the original creditor's name and the steps she can take if she thinks she doesn't owe the money.
If she sends them a letter asking for verification of the debt within 30 days of getting the validation notice, they have to stop contacting her until they send proof of the debt like a bill. I'm pretty sure she can also tell them that they are not allowed to contact her by phone.
You might want to show her this page from the FTC, too. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre18.shtm
2 people like this
@FrugalMommy (1438)
• United States
23 Jun 12
If it's been that long since the last activity on the account, the statute of limitations might already have expired. The site I found said the maximum in GA is only 6 years.
I have no idea if saying that she can't pay that amount would be considered to be acknowledging the debt. My uncle works in collections, so I sent him an email asking about it. I'll update when he replies. 
2 people like this
@FrugalMommy (1438)
• United States
24 Jun 12
He didn't give me a straight answer about the acknowledgement thing, but what he did say is this:
She can dispute the debt at any time, not just within the first 30 days after the debt collector contacts her. All burden of proof is with the debt collector, NOT her.
His advice is to tell them "You are to immediately cease and desist all phone contact with me and immediately send me proof of this debt in writing." He also says that no primary lender or collection agency is going to spend the time or money to do it.
Reading between the lines here, I think it sounds like it doesn't matter if she did acknowledge the debt. He seems really positive that the agency will drop things completely if she stands up to them and demands proof that the debt exists.
1 person likes this
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
23 Jun 12
That's good to know. I'll be sure to pass on the info to her. As I told someone else on here... he said not to give any information, but she gave her address. She said she doesn't know how they got her cell phone number. She doesn't have a regular phone... just a cell phone. She doesn't even have a computer of her own.. she has to go to the library or use someone elses.
Her bill is about 6 or 7 years old I think.. she isn't even sure... she was trying to tell me where she was living when she had the card... and I was estimating it was at least 5 or 6 years ago at least.
She said the collector asked if she could pay that 2000 and something today.. she said no... I wonder if that is acknowledging the debt? I hope not. She should not have to pay for something if it is past the statute of limitations.
Oh by the way... I fixed my wifi with your help, and then fixed my daughter's too cause hers had quit also. Now we are both on our wifi.
1 person likes this
@PhillyDreamer (3039)
• United States
22 Jun 12
This is a question with different answers depending on the circumstance. First question would be, is how old is the debt in question. If its already in the hands of a third party collector, all she has to do is ignore the calls because they have no legal recourse to recover the money. The second question is, how much does she owe. If its less than $1500 dollars its probably not worth the collectors time to pursue legal action. My advice to her would be to mark down every time the collector calls. Do not even acknowledge that you owe the debt, and do not give them any information. After about 4 years the debt is wiped off her credit history as long as she doesnt try to make payment arrangements.
3 people like this
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
22 Jun 12
Too late... she said she didn't know what to do and they asked if she lived at this certain address, and she said NO... and then they said where do you live and she gave her address and zip. She did not agree or say she would make any payments... she said she wouldn't even have $25 to pay any bills until after September... but she never agreed to anything. I feel that was a little too much info, but it's too late to say anything about it now.. they are apparently going to start calling her by computerized phone calls... however that works.
She is all upset. I feel bad for her, because I've been in that situation before and I paid mine at $50 a month for over 2 years. It was hard but I did it.
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (162868)
• United States
24 Jun 12
I do not know what they can or cannot do, but you are right, they would have to go to court, and get a judgement against her before they could do anything. I think if I were her, I might switch to getting it put somewhere else if possible, like a prepaid card. Can they even take disability? It does not seem right.
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (162868)
• United States
26 Mar 13
I am glad to be revisiting this discussion as I have some questions about why a certain agency that I have been dealing with, and approved to take automatic payments has suddenly stopped doing so. I had to renew my approval every six checks, whether they were monthly or twice a month, and I think I may have found an answer in Hatley's response on the first page. It has been ten months since you started this discussion, so what happened with your friend? Start a new discussion if it is newsworthy.
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
26 Mar 13
They aren't supposed to be able to take disability, but once it gets in the bank there is no guarantee they won't freeze the account. My Dax's got froze once. He was frantic.
1 person likes this
@cher913 (25781)
• Canada
22 Jun 12
could they garnishee her wages even if she is on disability? wow, that is scary. i think she needs to contact the bill collector company and the place where she gets her disability (is it federal or state to state?) makes me wonder what kind of rules they have in place here in canada for that too.
2 people like this
@adforme (2114)
•
23 Jun 12
I know a lot about being harassed by debt collectors. What your friend needs to do is know her rights. Ask her to research debt collecting practicing in her state as well as the legalities of debt collection. There are certain procedures you want to follow when paying debts as well. A good rule of thumb: GET EVERYTHING IN WRITING (agreements on how the debt is to paid and proof of satisfied debt payments). If a judgement is issued, you may see bank accounts frozen/depleted. At this point, if she cannot afford this, she may have to make arrangements to fulfill living expenses without the use of a bank account. If an electronic option (electronic check/bank draft) is something she chooses to pay a debt, she needs to make sure it is done with an account used mainly for the purpose of debt collection. In other words, do not use the account you pay your rent, food, and utilities with. Threats from collectors should not be tolerated. If threatening messages are left on an answering machine or in voicemail, keep them as evidence in the event you need to make a case.
@3SnuggleBunnies (16374)
• United States
25 Jun 12
As far as I know the only place that can freeze and account is the IRS, as I've seen it for back taxes.
I hope she didn't tell the person where she banks ect. It could be an open invitation to fraud. The best she can do is pay what she can when she can and I'd just hang up on them. As it really angers me if someone can't afford to pay or is a slow pay that they get all pissy with you but if you go to collection they only get .40 on the dollar...the collection agency gets .60 on the dollar. I'm sorry your friend is going thru this. We are going thru this bs w/ my hubby's pink eye bill, he won't set up arrangements and with that HIPPA junk they won't talk to me so I pay what I can and they have to like it & stop calling me!
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
26 Mar 13
She didn't tell them which bank but she told them it comes to her bank. So far nothing happened since I write this discussion. That's good anyway. She doesn't answer their calls now. If she doesn't know the number she doesn't answer. I'm the same way. I don't answer strange calls.
@Hatley (163773)
• Garden Grove, California
23 Jun 12
pointless questions I had a bill c ollector make all sorts of threats but I just closed the door and called the police, and they came and arrested the man for trespass as he just shoved my door open and walk in and started threatening me. I was not in quite as bad a shape as her but almost. I gave no info at all as legally you do not have too and legally they cannot come to your door and physically threaten you./ we contested the bill got it cu t down and paid it. I know they cannot freeze her government checks thats illegal.they are not to harass you physically either as thats illegal also. she should call a public defender and get some pro Bono advice it will not cost her anything. hugs from hatley.
@GardenGerty (162868)
• United States
24 Jun 12
This is actually a great and helpful discussion PQ. I did a quick search as well and found this site. http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/searches/judgment-proof-disability.html and the way I read it, they cannot freeze her disability.
1 person likes this
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
26 Mar 13
Good for you Hatley. I'm glad you had him arrested.
GG - thanks for that link. I'll look into that. Once the disability is in the bank, I think they can freeze the bank account. It happened to my dad. They aren't supposed to be able to but they did it to my dad. I don't know how my dad unfroze it. It was a couple if decades ago.
@celticeagle (172525)
• Boise, Idaho
23 Jun 12
I hope that your friend has learned a valuable lesson. I can't believe that they can freeze the account of someone on disability. She needs to remember to check the caller ID before answering the phone. I don't take calls from anyone if I don't know the number. I figure they can leave a message and I can call them back or not at my convenience. Harrassing is against the law. And bill collectors can't call before 8a. or after 9p. The bill collector needs to have the needed information to prove they have the right bill too. Like the account number and correct name of the company. Bill collection companies sell their clients to other companies all the time and may not have this old information. People have the right to get their annual credit report from www.AnnualCreditRepott.com also. This can clarify alot of problems and answer alot of questions also. Here is an informative article on the question you had:
http://www.ehow.com/info_8308410_can-put-freeze-bank-accounts.html
and here is a paragraph I thought really says it all:
'Debt collectors can garnish funds from your checking account, but a debt collector's court judgment doesn't entitle it to garnish certain types of military benefits. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) notes that certain funds in your checking account, such as Social Security payments, military annuities and retirement pension payments, are exempt from being either frozen or garnished by debt collectors. Notify your bank of any exempt funds within your checking account to have those funds released early.'
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
23 Jun 12
Thank you. I will print this out for her. She doesn't have a computer. I'll go to the site and read it and print it up also.
2 people like this
@randylovesdar (4932)
• United States
25 Mar 13
Debt collectors will use any tactic to get people to pay their debts. I had one who pretended to be a lawyer just to find out that they were a debt consolidation company. The company claimed that they were going to put a lean on the house, take all our money out of our account and even claimed that they had a court hearing to do all this. I asked what the court case number is and they said we cannot give it out. I said well, if you cannot give me this information then you do not have a real case against me. Three days later they called again and I said, "well, I am take recording our conversation" and then they hung up and never called again. I do know that they cannot take touch her disability.
1 person likes this
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
26 Mar 13
I agree. They will do all they can to coerce people. Some of these debts aren't even valid anymore.
@Cutie18f (9546)
• Philippines
23 Jun 12
These bill collectors are dreaming. People are having a hard time surviving. They should be helpful if they want to get paid. They should offer easy ways your friend can pay her debt. No matter how many times they use threat or even if they indeed go to court, if the person is penniless, they cannot squeeze some money from her.
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
10 Oct 12
First tell her never to talk to a bill collector again. THen go to her bank, tell them that she is afraid of a scam and by mistake and not thinking fast enough she mentioned her disability went to her checking account and she wants to close taht checking account and open a new one. Or..better yet...close that account and open one else where. You can't be to sure and can't feel to safe. Now that they know where her income goes. there are ways they can get to it...judgment and liens...go to court and get a judgement or lien on her account. And if they do that..and she is at the same bank...they can get to the new one...so best she should do is open account at another bank and close this one.
Look up "zombie debt" and it willt ell you lot about bill collectors ec. Law says they can't harras you on the phone and you just need to tell them that and that you will file charges against them if they dont' stop. Turn the tables on them and say.. may I have your name, number, address and anythign else you can think of..and when they dont' tell you, you tell them...to leave you alone or you will be turning them into the police for harrassement. She can even get another phone number...might cost her, but it isn't that much and she should tell the phone compnay that the reason she is changing it is only due to massive scam and harrasseing callers.
1 person likes this
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
26 Mar 13
Thank you for all this information. I learned something here. I told her to not even answer those calls. She gets them on Sundays too. I have had them too and I've told them not to call but they still do. I marked one number as 'Dont Answer' and when that comes up on the caller ID I just let it ring.
@bestboy19 (5478)
• United States
12 Jul 12
Did the collection agency give any proof they owned her debt? She should have it in writing that the original debt owner sold her debt to this agency. There are websites that can answer questions about your rights when dealing with collection agencies. You might want to suggest to your friend that from now on she think before she speaks.
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
26 Mar 13
She doesn't answer calls anymore. I don't know about proof. I told her to just ignore those calls. An old debt like that is over the statute of limitations.
