Telephone calls have no legal weight since there is no record of what was said on a call. Knowing this, credit card debt collectors will say threatening things on the phone and get away with telling their lies. That is why consumer debt collectors choose to use the phone over mail. Debt collectors lose their power when communications are reduced to writing.
What matters in court are the written communications, or the lack of them, between a consumer and a credit card debt collector. Mail sent certified return receipt requested further helps the consumer put the debt collector on the defensive.
Over the telephone credit card debt collectors lie a great deal. These are some of those lies:
1. They claim you are the target of a lawsuit in your local court and that you’ll get your summons any day.
2. Or they may ask you for a small payment, which is well within your means – surely that is acceptable? Not so, if you make this payment then you have legally documented admission to the debt, and made things worse.
3. They tell you you may be arrested, knowing no one can be arrested for a civil matter.
4. They threaten to have your wages garnished.
5. They might even threaten you with having your bank account seized.
Each of these lies is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
On the phone, credit card debt collectors attempt to get you to admit to the debt, confirm the debt’s credit card number and share personal information like your Social Security number, your work place phone number, and your bank account information. According to the Credit Card Debt Survival Guide, at this point you should deny and dispute the debt (whether or not it is yours), tell them they are just a voice on the other end of the line. They could be anyone, and you do not share your personal financial information with strangers. Then hang up.
Curiosity should be the only reason for taking one of these calls. If a credit card debt collector calls out of the cold, let them tell you what debt they are calling about, then tell them you have received no written notice from them about the debt and hang up.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act allows the consumer to instruct the debt collector in writing to stop all collection calls. After that each call is a violation of the law, and subject to a $1000 penalty. Consumers should keep logs of the phone calls and contact a consumer rights attorney, who may agree to sue the credit card debt collector over these violations on a contingency fee basis.
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