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Yes, the FDCPA would apply to you even if you are not the debtor, I helped someone deal with this situation before. § 804. Acquisition of location information [15 USC 1692b] Any debt collector communicating with any person other than the consumer for the purpose of acquiring location information about the consumer shall -- (1) identify himself, state that he is confirming or correcting location information concerning the consumer, and, only if expressly requested, identify his employer; Also you have this... § 806. Harassment or abuse [15 USC 1692d] A debt collector may not engage in any conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse any person in connection with the collection of a debt. Without limiting the general application of the foregoing, the following conduct is a violation of this section: As you can see it says they "harass, oppress, or abuse ANY person in connection with the collection of a debt." so yes, you would be able to act under the FDCPA even though you are not the debtor. You say you sent a copy of your cell phone bill, but did you send it certified return receipt and do you have a copy of the letter? If you can prove that you told them to stop contacting you, and can prove that they continue to call, you could sue already. If not, you'll have to start over. If you don't have any proof of the previous letters you sent, send them another one stating that you are not the person they are looking for, do not know that person and are demanding that they cease contacting you. You can also include the situation about your husband working nights and the previous letters you sent to give your letter some added punch. Send that certified return receipt and keep both the green card and a copy of the letter. If they continue to contact you, get your phone records (or even better, record the call if your state allows it) and file suit for the FDCPA violations. If you're not comfortable suing yourself, visit NACA.net and find one of their attorneys in your area. If you lay the proper ground work, they will likely take your case on a contingency and simply bill the collection agency for any legal fees. Edit - I just wanted to mention that Slimick is incorrect. The FDCPA allows for $1000 per ACTION (plus damages and legal fees) not $1000 per violation.

by crazyjester9

1 year ago

Asker's Rating: 

This is a common problem. Here's how to solve it. Step One: Send the collection agency a letter via Certified Mail + Return Receipt stating: Per the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, I am requesting cease all verbal communications with me about this alleged debt. Step Two: Next time they call, read the following statement: Pursuant to [your state] state law, this is to inform you that this phone call is being recorded. If you do not consent to being recorded, you need to terminate this call. Pursuant to [your state] state law, continuation of this phone call after officially being informed that it is being recorded implies consent to be recorded. This recording will be used to pursue Fair Debt Collection Practice Act violations in a court of law. After you get the return receipt from the post office, each call they make to you represents a $1,000 fine under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. So if they call you 15 times after they received your certified cease communications letter, you could sue them for $15K in FDCPA violations. You could get a nice settlement out of this bad situation. -------------------- It doesn't matter if you aren't the debtor....If a 3rd-party debt collector is making repeated contacts with you, the FDCPA applies

by Slimick- 1 year ago

Next time you have the collection agent on the phone, get them to clearly state their company name, the main company incorporation, the account name and amount they are attempting to collect, the applicant and co-applicant,and where and when the debt was incurred. Then tell them to cease calling you in regards to collecting that debt, and that you wish to be contacted only to be notified of your complete release of liability of the debt. Send cease and desist letters to the creditors and threaten to sue if they call again. Get your free annual credit reports to make sure the debt isn't reporting, and dispute it if it is. If need be fill out a fraud affidavit to submit to the creditors as well. Get a free copy here: www ...

by www.californiacreditsolution.com- 1 year ago

First, send the collector a certified, return reciept letter telling them to cease and desist all contact with you. You will need to list your phone number and the name of the people they are trying to reach. If all you have are first names, this could be a problem. It is doubtful the collection agency will be able to determine which file without a last name. Spell out that these are relatively new cell phone numbers and you have no idea who Tyler and Jason are. You may also try contacting your cell phone company and seeing if there is a way to block the calls or maybe just change your phone numbers. While it is possible to sue for excessive phone calls, it really isn't as easy as some folks like to make it. You really need a lawyer and will waste a lot of your time and probably won't collect a penny.

by bdancer222- 1 year ago

Leigh, here's the problem. Collection agencies hear the "this isn't their number" excuse all of the time and never believe it. This is what prompted Congress to include wordage in the FDCA preventing repeated calls to 3rd parties. But as you point out, the FDCA has a "grey" area about your exact problem. YOU can't file a FDCA complaint because YOU are not considered the "consumer" as defined under the FDCA. If you file a lawsuit yourself, the very first line of defense the collection agent will use is you do not have legal merit to file such a lawsuit, as you are not the consumer. "The term “consumer” means any natural person obligated or allegedly obligated to pay any debt." Unless you know how to respond to this nonsense, you will lose your case. This is why you may need to locate a lawyer, preferably someone who is a NACA member and is aware of how to do FDCA lawsuits. The violation here is as follows: "Causing a telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass any person at the called number. " Note the phrase "any person"...no referance to the consumer at all. The response to this is in Section 813: "§ 813. Civil liability (a) Except as otherwise provided by this section, any debt collector who fails to comply with any provision of this title with respect to any person is liable to such person in an amount equal to the sum of—" Well lookee there! We see the "any person" phrase again. You do NOT need to be the consumer, "any person" may file a lawsuit. So to answer your question, yes, you can file your own lawsuit. But I would recommend you do it with an attorney. There are a growing number of them who take on these cases because they are extremely easy to win, and they collect their attorney fees once they win. Keep all copies of documents and letters you have sent them.

by Studly- 1 year ago