Debt collectors keep blowing up my phone… what can I do?

Seeking Advice
1

Lately, I’ve been getting nonstop calls from a debt collector. They keep saying they’ll freeze all my accounts, but they haven’t sent me any paperwork or court documents. The only thing they have are phone recordings of our conversations, which they claim they’re keeping on file.

I filed a complaint with my attorney general because they’ve been calling me over 10 times a day. Now they’re leaving voicemails telling me to hire a lawyer and have them call back by 2pm today.

I talked to a consumer debt legal department, and they told me not to pay anything unless I get proof of the debt in writing. Are these guys just trying to scare me into paying? Has anyone else dealt with this kind of nonsense?

2

This sounds like a scam.

Block their number, don’t answer any unknown calls, and wait for something in the mail. If it’s legit, they have to send proof in writing.

3

Stop talking to them. If they’re legit, they have to send you proof. No paperwork, no payment.

4

Arlo said:
Stop talking to them. If they’re legit, they have to send you proof. No paperwork, no payment.

Agreed. I used to work in debt collection, and a lot of these shady companies pop up during tax season. Block them and don’t answer numbers you don’t recognize. They’ll eventually move on to someone else.

5

@Teal
These companies buy up old debts, sometimes debts that are already too old to collect on. They pressure people into paying because the moment you send them even one dollar, they can legally come after you for the full amount.

6

If you’re getting tons of spam calls and you have an iPhone, go to:

Settings > Phone > Silence Unknown Callers

Not sure about Android, but you can look it up. This helped me a lot.

7

Lennon said:
If you’re getting tons of spam calls and you have an iPhone, go to:

Settings > Phone > Silence Unknown Callers

Not sure about Android, but you can look it up. This helped me a lot.

I did that, and I’ve blocked their numbers, but somehow they’re still leaving voicemails.

8

@Harley
That might actually work in your favor. If they’re leaving shady messages, you’ve got proof of their tactics. Might be enough to take to a lawyer and turn the tables on them.

9

Ezra said:
@Harley
That might actually work in your favor. If they’re leaving shady messages, you’ve got proof of their tactics. Might be enough to take to a lawyer and turn the tables on them.

They keep threatening to report me to ChexSystems and freeze my bank accounts. I don’t see how they could do that without a court order. They haven’t sent me a single email or letter about this debt.

10

@Harley
These bottom-feeder debt collectors make all kinds of threats, but legally, they can’t do much without a court order. They just want to scare you into paying. If they had a real case, they’d take you to court instead of harassing you over the phone. Get a robocall blocker and ignore them.

11

Ezra said:
@Harley
That might actually work in your favor. If they’re leaving shady messages, you’ve got proof of their tactics. Might be enough to take to a lawyer and turn the tables on them.

If they don’t have your address, they can’t serve you anything anyway.

12

Yeah, do NOT talk to them on the phone. Everything in writing only.

13

Here’s how debt collection works:

  1. They try to get you to pay voluntarily.
  2. If that doesn’t work, they go to court and get a judgment against you.
  3. Once they have a judgment, they can garnish wages, freeze accounts, and go after assets.

Most people ignore court notices, which is how collectors win default judgments. You need to check if they actually have a judgment against you. If not, all they can do is harass you.

14

@Lian
I haven’t received anything in the mail about a judgment or even this debt.

15

Harley said:
@Lian
I haven’t received anything in the mail about a judgment or even this debt.

Then they’re bluffing. They’ll eventually give up.

16

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), collectors can’t call you more than seven times in seven days. If they don’t send proof of debt, you can ignore them.

17

You probably gave them your number at some point. That’s how they keep calling you.

18

Tell them you’re filing for bankruptcy and they’ll back off real quick.

19

If they don’t send you something in writing, it’s a scam. They won’t do it because they don’t want you to know their real address.

20

The more they call, the more likely it is that they’re a shady company trying to scare you into paying.