Negotiate a Debt Settlement

Is it legal for bill collectors to call my relatives?

Bill collectors are calling my relatives several times`a day. Now they also have a law` office calling. I'm in a debt settlement program and so when i get enough money saved up they call the creditors and start negotiating an amount i pay. Is there a letter i can write to stop the phone calls?

Public Comments

1. yes, it's illegal. after telling them once not to call, they're supposed to stop
2. usually the service that you have hired to negotiate with your creditors solve that problem for you maybe ask them about it
3. Laws vary somewhat from state to state but your if your relatives are not parties to the note or loan or whatever then discussing your accounts with them is a violation of Federal Privacy Laws. The Law office knows that too but they are in fact just bill collectors. Contact each of them by registered mail and advise them to stop contacting persons not party to the original agreement and send the letters certified. They will stop!
4. Collection practices are governed on the federal levels by Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (see links under source), and individual states may have its own laws. I recommend: 1) As the wikipedia article points out, it is prohibited for collectors to: revealing or discussing the nature of debts with third parties (other than the consumer's spouse or attorney) This means they may try to look for you and may say why they are looking for you, but they can not reveal the details of the debt to your relatives. They also have to identify themselves, so your relatives could tell the collection agency not to bother them with this issue, or they can report the agency to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). 2) Depending on the state you live in, you can also check out what the state laws are. 3) Regardless, you could write and request that the agency stop bothering your relatives. Make sure you send this to the agency and the law office via certified mail. This way you put them on notice, so if any lawsuit should happen, at least you have proof (keep a copy for yourself). Click on the link below under Sources to see the sample letter to stop collection calls. You may add in "relatives" as well. Good luck! Just Be!
5. Yes, if they are calling more than once unless specifically requested to do so by your relatives they are violating the fair credit reporting act. I had to use this several time to stop some phone calls. I just went to the governments website after I did a search and read all the chapters and article about what creditors can and cannot do. Then I typed up a letter that listed the violations and followed the guidelines in the fair credit reporting act and had them notarized and mailed certified mail one copy to me and one copy to each lender. Then the calls stopped. If they happened to call again or attempt to contact you about anything other than a change in the status of your account you can sue them for harassment and violations of the act. It helped me alot.
6. If they can't get a hold of you....sure thay can call the relatives, employer and whoever else they think might be able to help them out.