I watched the above video and read the accompanying article from the WSPA Channel 7 website with interest. Apparently, this fellow has been getting collections calls from “at least six” debt collectors on his home phone number for over a year a half. The debt collectors are looking for some woman that doesn’t live there, and that he doesn’t know. Poor guy complains that they call him on Sunday mornings when he’s trying to sleep, and it sounds like he’s even considered changing his telephone number to escape the calls. All I can say is, this fellow must be a pretty mellow dude. If he’s just now looking for solutions to this incredibly annoying situation that has been dragging on for over a year….wow.
The advice given in the article is fine. But to add my thoughts, without knowing further details of the case–this fellow should contact a consumer lawyer in his area. If he has told these collectors who are calling (and I’m assuming he has, more than once) that he is not the woman they are seeking, then the debt collectors are in violation of the FDCPA by calling back….again and again….FOR OVER A YEAR. And if there are “at least six” collectors dishing out this abusive telephone behavior, I can almost guarantee that a consumer attorney would LOVE to help Ray out, at no cost. The more I think about it, the more I wish Ray lived in Florida, so I could help him out. Not much makes a consumer lawyer angrier than an older person who has been intimidated, harassed, and bullied by debt collectors over a long period of time, but just didn’t know where to turn for help, or what to do to make the abuse stop. In my credit card debt defense law practice here in South Florida, an area well known for its elderly population, I meet many older and retired Miami residents that are being harassed by debt collectors by telephone, and simply do not know what to do. Often, a younger friend or relative refers them to me at Debt Defense Law, and accompanies them to the office, and I listen to their stories of debt collector harassment and abuse. Regardless of your age, if you find yourself in a situation like Ray’s and are being harassed or abused by debt collectors via the telephone, and you don’t know where to turn for help, visit www.naca.net (the website of the National Association of Consumer Attorneys) and use their “Find an Attorney” feature to find a qualified, local consumer attorney.
Debt Collector Telephone Abuse of the Older and Retired: Don’t Get Mad, Do Something!
