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Calvary Portfolio has been harassing me with continuous phone calls. They've called my work and I've asked them not to. So they started calling my ex-husband's mothers home phone and my daughter-in law's cell phone. This is total harassment. I tried to make arrangements with them to pay off the debt which they say is more than it should be but they wouldn't work with me. The people I've talked to have been rude and told me I was a liar and that I didn't know how to budget my money. Is there anything I can do to stop this harassment!
Dealing with debt collectors can be extremely frustrating. Knowing your rights is critical when it comes to dealing with debt collectors. These rights are explained in the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collections Practices Act), the federal law governing debt collection practices. Under the FDCPA, it is illegal, for example, for debt collectors to abuse you in an attempt to collect a debt. Some of the things that have been said to you, by the collectors fall under that provision. The FDCPA also states that the collector can not contact anyone else regarding your debt. They can, however, contact a relative, for example, to get your contact information if they do not have it. They can NOT divulge anything about a debt to the third party. If they've already contacted you via phone and mail (meaning they know they have your contact information) and still call relatives, neighbors, etc, is a different matter all together. This is a tactic used to embarrass you into paying them, which is also illegal. They can not call you at work, if you've told them not to in writing. You also have the right to dispute the validity of the debt. If you request validation within the first 30 days of their initial contact with you, they must, by law, stop collection activities until the debt is properly validated. Since this collector is getting fairly abusive with you on phone calls, you can gain the upper hand. Missouri happens to be a 'One party recording' state (http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cc/20030519d1.asp). This means that you can record your conversations with the debt collector without telling them you are. By recording your calls, you can get PROOF of how the collector is treating you. Asking the other people they've been contacting to do the same (if they are also in a 'One party recording' state). You can then take the recording(s) to a NACA (National Association of Consumer Advocates) attorney (www.naca.net) and find out if you have a case against the collector. Most of these attorneys have a free consultation. IF they deem that you have a case, and agree to sue the collector, you will not owe a dime to the attorney, if your attorney wins the case. The collection agency will have to pay all of your court costs if they lose. Best of luck!