I'm a big believer in paying bills on time. In my
years of paying bills I've only been late on one payment and
somehow didn't realize that I didn't send in a payment one
month. As much as possible I don't even carry a month
to month balance on my credit card so that I don't pay
interest on it.
So this makes calls from debt collectors
all the more annoying to me. I've had my current phone
number almost two years now and apparently at least two
people who had it before me didn't like to pay their bills
and I keep getting calls from debt collectors for them.
At
first I answered these calls to tell the companies that they
had the wrong number and to take my phone number out of
their system. One company I had to tell six times
before they finally got the message. Lately though
I've been just getting a recording, instructing me to call
them back at their 800 number.
I'm not taking my time to call back about a debt that I
don't owe and waste my time on hold, all so the company can
call me again the next day because they never bothered to
remove my phone number from their system.
All consumers
have rights. Debt collectors may only call during
certain hours of the day. They may not call at work
without permission. They may not make threats or use
abusive language. They must identify their company and
explain that they are attempting to collect a debt.
Unfortunately many debt collectors don't follow these rules.
Fortunately you can report such thugs to the FTC.
http://www.ftc.gov explains all of the that collectors
must follow. If a debt collector has broken any of
these rules you may report them to the FTC.
First, Google
the phone number that the debt collector called from or
search
www.whitepages.com to find the company name. After
you have found as much information as you can about the
company, go to
www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov to report them to the
government. You won't receive anything in compensation
for your annoyance by these companies but the government
will investigate their practices and fine them if they have
been breaking the law.
