NCO Harassment

[fishbjc]

NCO has somehow connected me to someone with a *similar name* working for a similar company.  They called me at my office, I explained that I never lived at the address they had on file, nor did our ss's mix. 

They called me again and again and again.  They also called the owner of my company (both of them) to ask for *me*.

I called again, told the girl that I was recording the call..they were to cease and decist contacting me via phone or contacting anyone but me.  I informed her that I recorded the call and she said fine.

I also followed up with a letter.

They stopped calling for about one month, but recently have been calling my boss at his residence.  Suggestions on how to stop this harassment?

[Anonymous]

if they call you more than once they are in violation and you can sue for statutory damages. if you're in a one-party consent state, like TX, record the calls as evidence. if not you can still have your phone records subpoenaed and use those as evidence that they called you more than once. 

and if they fail to ID themselves or their company, there's another violation. see (another forum).com for more info on suing them. if you can write a serious looking legal complaint and an convincing intent to sue letter, you can possibly get a settlement without even going to court.


FDCPA § 804. Acquisition of location information 
Any debt collector communicating with any person other 
than the consumer for the purpose of acquiring location infor-
mation about the consumer shall—
(1) identify himself, state that he is confirming or correct-
ing location information concerning the consumer, and, 
only if expressly requested, identify his employer; 
(2) not state that such consumer owes any debt; 
(3) not communicate with any such person more than once 
unless requested to do so by such person or unless 
the debt collector reasonably believes that the earlier 
response of such person is erroneous or incomplete and 
that such person now has correct or complete location 
information; 
(4) not communicate by post card; 
(5) not use any language or symbol on any envelope or 
in the contents of any communication effected by the 
mails or telegram that indicates that the debt collector 
is in the debt collection business or that the communi-
cation relates to the collection of a debt; and 
(6) after the debt collector knows the consumer is repre-
sented by an attorney with regard to the subject debt 
and has knowledge of, or can readily ascertain, such 
attorney’s name and address, not communicate with 
any person other than that attorney, unless the attorney 
fails to respond within a reasonable period of time to 
the communication from the debt collector.

[RobertEG]

Yeah, excellent post by MDfive21 regarding calls to you about another.

Here is a basic outline of how I suggest you deal with calls from a debt collector.

It breaks down into two very different and distinct categories.  Are they calling you regarding a debt you owe, or they calling you with regard to a debt owed by another?

MDfive21 has laid out the law regarding calling you about another party.  They cannot tell you, or even intimate to you, that they are calling regarding a debt that party may owe.  If fhey do, they are then in strict violation of FDCPA 804(2).  which is a serious privacy act violatilon.  All that they can tell you, quite simply, is that they are trying to secure "location information" for that party.

"Location information: is defined under FDCPA  803(7) as being only their "place of abode and his telephone number at such place, or his place of employment."

Once you answer one request for "location information," FDCPA 804(3) then limits them to that one request from you, unless they demonstrate, under FDCPA 804(c)(3), that they "reasonably believe that that the earlier response of such person was erroneous or incomplete and that such person now has correct tor complete locator informatiom." 

If they should call again, just ask them to first substantiate to you how your prior reply that you did know this party's domicile or home or business phone number is reasonably believed by them to have been inaccurate.  Make them call you a liar, and inform them that if they dont have such evidence, then this, and any future callts to you, are a clear violation of FDCPA 804(3), and you will now be filing  a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Comissdion for their violation of FDCPA 804(3)