Okay, I am loosing it

Halo42101 wrote: I am sitting here crying now. This is the 4th phone call someone tried to contact Theron for and they said if it's not taken care of by Thursday, he's not going to know what's coming to him. I hate this! I am really considering bad thoughts about my life now... I am so sick of this!

mckayleesmom replied: Sweetie...You need to calm down.....and stop answering your phone.

Halo42101 replied: It's so hard to screen my calls though because a lot of them come up as unknown name, unknown # and that's the same that comes up for my obgyn. That's why I have been picking up the phone today. Otherwise, I usually don't but they are really starting to threaten us with these calls now. You should see my caller I.D. with all their #s on it. They made it so that I couldn't rest today!

mckayleesmom replied: Get an answering machine and if they really want to talk to you...they will talk into it. Don't pick up unless you know them.

Halo42101 replied: That's what I normally do... put the answering machine on but it's hard to catch my obgyn, so I try to talk to her when she calls. She's always on the run. KWIM?

BAC'sMom replied:

Good advice Brianne.

Halo42101 replied: I know you're trying to help & I thank you, Brianne. It's just frustrating waiting for this other call.

C&K*s Mommie replied: They (bill collectors) will threaten and use every tactic in the book to cause you grief. You are not denying that you owe the money, and you are willing to pay it back, so as Abbie said in another post they cannot get blood from a turnip.

As Brianne said, calm down. If they are planning to do anything, they will give you ample notice (not 72hours) to make good on the payment. They can threaten to sic whoever on you, and make your life a miserable existence , in the end it is all talk to make you fork over the money that you owe them. They are only interested in getting the money that is owed back to them.

In the meantime, if you can pay a couple dollars a month, then so be it. You can only do what you can do.

mckayleesmom replied: Just send them a dollar....once a month...If they do take you to court...at least the judge will see that you paid something...

C&K*s Mommie replied: what about when as soon as they ask for Theron _______ or Mr. ________ or whatever, then just hang up?

That will not solve the problem, but for a moment you may get some relief not having to talk to them at this stressful moment in your life. That and it will free up the line, so in case she calls today, you will be able to talk to her immediately.

mckayleesmom replied: Also...You are probably not the only one which is why they are probably calling more frequently. With gas prices through the roof along with raising prices on everything...they are probably losing tons of money because of other people in the same situation as you and Theron.

Halo42101 replied: Thanks everyone. Your posts really help ease my mind. I did tell the last lady that we're so poor at the moment, we could only "probably" send them a penny! She sure was shocked and didn't say much after.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
I agree, to be honest. I'm not sure if they can legally do anything if you are sending some kind of payment. I'm not positive though, but at least it will strengthen your case.

kit_kats_mom replied: I'm a former collection department manager. If indeed a collector threated you, you can sue their pants off. It is illegal to threaten anything...period..unless you really can do what you are threatening. For example, if you are past due on your car they can tell you that they will be coming to repo the vehicle. Not a threat, it's what the next step is if you don't pay the bill.

If you are in the US, Google the Fair Debt Collection Act, here is one link: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/fdc.htm

it outlines what your rights are as a consumer and what the collectors can and can't do.

I find it odd that everyone is calling you today. Generally the real calling gets underway closer to the end of the month when the $$ is needed for the department to make goals.

Halo42101 replied: Well, as I mentioned before, this happened long before I met Theron, so I don't see how they can threaten us like this with it now.

Boo&BugsMom replied: Just remember, the people on the other end have to do their job. Not saying I am justifying them hounding you, but they do have to do their jobs. I agree with Nicole, that many times it is all talk. This is what they are getting paid to do. They have to say what they can to get their company's money. Just do what you did with the last lady. Play their game back and try to win their sympathy.

kit_kats_mom replied:
well, if you owe them, the debt never really goes away. Sure, they may write it off to get it off of their books but they can come after you whenever they please, unless the debt has been discharged by bankruptcy.

That was one of my jobs, going through decades old written off debts and attempting collection...watching obits to see if they died and had any property that we could put leins on etc.

mckayleesmom replied:
They are probably trying to recover past debts because of the high costs of everything these days...They probably didn't need to recover the money as urgently before as they do now. With prices on everything..especially gas going up...They are scrambling to make ends meet, just like us. With higher gas prices comes people wanting raises...and so forth.

Halo42101 replied:
Thank you so much! I am looking that link up now. I appreciate your post very much.

C&K*s Mommie replied: I could be wrong, but it is still on his credit. And when you two were married some of his debts were accrued by you through marriage. I could be wrong, though.

I just know that a student loan Chris defaulted on before we even met, is my responsibility if something ever happens to him. I have to file a certain waiver in with our taxes because of it, so they will not garnish my refund to pay for that defaulted loan, with that waiver any of his anticipated refund goes back to the Dept of Ed, and any refund I receive is given back to me, as if we filed married but seperately.

Jackie012007 replied: oooh I'm good at this too... I'm in credit counseling and I STILL get harrassing phonecalls. When you are on the phone with them, get their company name, the name of the representative, and their address if they will give it to you... if they won't, check any collections latters they have sent you. You have the right to send them a letter to Cease and Desist all collection activity via phone. Here is a link to a copy of what the letter should say (Just fill in your info):
http://credit.about.com/od/debtcollection/a/ceasedesist.htm

You can do this even if you aren't in credit counseling, it is your right under the Fair Debt Collection Act. And they DEFINITELY cannot threaten bodily harm!! After you send the letter (since your debt collectors are this rude, I'd send it return receipt requested) in about a week your calls will stop!

Also for some of the ones who still persist and call every now and then, Carl and I have the "4 Second Rule"... when yuo pick up the phone, it usually takes about 4 seconds for them to connect... that way you know it's not someone on a normal phone. We hang up!

Hang in there, and I HTH!!!

~Roo'sMama~ replied: I'm sorry Jessi, they can be very mean sometimes. Cary had some really good advice. I'd also say that if you have to answer the phone and they call again just hang up on them when you figure out who it is. You don't need this right now and they shouldn't keep calling over and over like this when you've told them Theron isn't home and you can't do anything about it right now.

Halo42101 replied: So, we can sue them for this since it's been so long? I am very anxious for Theron to come home from work now. He'll be home at 3:45. You should see me, I am literally jittering in my seat.

kit_kats_mom replied:
actually, don't hang up on them. I can't tell you how many files I expedited to legal because they hung up on me. It is infuriating and rude. If you are not on the loans, just calmly explain to them t hat you are not on the loan and you do not wish to discuss your husbands finances.

C&K*s Mommie replied: From my understanding, you can sue for the threats posed against you within a yr from the date of occurence (today)

kit_kats_mom replied:
No. they would have to violate one of the laws under the FDCA before you could sue them. LOL THey have every right to attempt to collect the debt but they must adhere to the laws.

Halo42101 replied: Thank you again everyone. I really appreciate all of your help. I am going to sit outside now and wait for Theron to pull in. Maybe some fresh air will help some. I will KUP on how it goes. You all are great... I really don't know what I'd do without you.

punkeemunkee'smom replied: Like Cary said-You can request they stop calling you and only do things in writting but you can't sue them just because they are calling. IF they are threatening action that is against the law(once again you need to know the laws in your state) you can file complaints and I suppose sue them if you wish to spend the $$$ to do so....If this is a debt you can not pay back I would look into fileing bankruptcy before I sued.....

Halo42101 replied:
Okay, thanks. I did see that one called at exactly 8 this morning. That's why I was thinking it.

C&K*s Mommie replied: Another possibility, or something to consider later on down the line. Maybe not now.

Pay what you can though. They should be happy that you are honest people looking to make good on an old debt.

luvmykids replied: When I was in college I screwed up my credit badly. Once a collector called and I told him I was starting a new job the next week and would be able to make payment arrangements then, he said "No you will not be starting a new job because I'll make sure you're in jail." Right then I asked for his supervisor and guess what, she is the one who told me about my rights. She is the one who had me file a complaint and they were going to take "disciplinary action". The point is, next time one calls, ask for a supervisor, keep your cool, and tell them your situation and ask what they suggest for you. It sounds silly but I've found supervisors much more willing to actually hear me out and try to work with me.

Halo42101 replied: Theron does want to pay them back but one of them is not even his. It would be his father's but I think they confused them. Anyhow, I was wondering if they can somehow delete a phone call on your caller I.D. because they did call at exactly 8a.m. this morning and I know I didn't errase it. I wonder if they did somehow, so they wouldn't get in trouble.

Halo42101 replied:
Thank you, Monica. Next time they say something threatening, I will ask for their supervisor. I am sorry you had to go through that too and everyone else here who has had this problem. They can be really terrible and know just how shake a person up.

amynicole21 replied: I hope you can get everything worked out. Have you looked into consumer credit counselling?