As the number of our friends and neighbors who are out of work increases, along with the length of time they are out of work, the odds of getting the kind of telephone call that Maegan Kozlak of Somers, Ct., received recently will undoubtedly increase.
Kozlak told me that she received a call from IFP – Integrity Financial Partners – a debt collection agency, inquiring not about her debt but about a neighbor.
She said a Vicky Dodd called one evening last month wanting to know if she knew one of her neighbors.
“I said ‘I did,’ she then asked me if I would give him a message from Vicky Dodd regarding an important business matter,” she wrote me.
“I told her I was shocked that they had the nerve to call people’s neighbors and that I would certainly not be giving him any messages!”
The next morning, she said, her husband called IFP and told the firm that it had no right to call and they would report the Kansas firm to Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal if they called their home again.
“She informed my husband that there is no law saying that they cannot call neighbors,” Kozlak wrote me. “This is unbelievable!! Apparently we can now be harassed over our neighbors debts? This is crazy!! Apparently we need to ask our neighbors to pay their bills so we don’t get calls in regards to them!”
I sent IFP a copy of Kozlak’s complaint (which I also forwarded to state officials) on Feb. 17, but IFP has not responded. They also ignored a second request for comment.
Interestingly, the firm has a good B+ rating with the Better Business Bureau with 14 complaints against it in the past three years involving billing or collections issues.
Depending on the specifics, IFP may or may not have violated the federal credit reporting act. If they did, the neighbor can hire an attorney and IFP would have to pay attorney fees as well as a $1,000 to the neighbor if it violated a law.
Debt collectors cannot call anybody at any time to pressure them to pay their debts. One of their favorite tricks though is to call neighbors, friends and relatives as an embarrassment factor.
If the debt collector does not know where the individual lives, they can call neighbors, friends and relatives to find out. However, they are not permitted to even indicate that there is a debt issue and if they already knew the person’s address and were just calling neighbors to pressure the debtor, that would be illegal, a violation of the federal fair credit act.
Dan Blinn, managing attorney of the Consumer Law Group in Rocky Hill, says he has collected fines for a number of people who were harassed by debt collection firms and was paid by the collection agency for his time.
He says debt collectors also can’t call you at work if you have told them that your boss does not permit those kinds of calls, they can’t call you at home at unreasonable hours, or contact you after you have provided them with the name and telephone number of your attorney.
And as for Kozlak, odds are that she can’t collect any damages for the one phone call. But, if she gets repeated calls she should let Blumenthal’s office know.
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I get calls from debt collectors looking for some schmuck with the same name. Best thing to do? Tell them you want to ask your wife (or dog, bartender, etc.) what to do, can they wait on hold for just one moment? Then put the phone down and forget about it. They *never* call back, which is the desired result, yes?
I get calls for a relative with a different last name. It IS a complete harassment and I think it is completely unethical for a debt collector to call neighbors, friends or family.
I am confused, you are permitted under the FDCPA to contact references to obtain Address, Phone and Employment information on a debtor. There is no law that states “neighbors” cannot be contacted for the above information. The debt collector tried to determine where the debtor was using references and requested a message be left; all of this is permissible under the FDCPA. The collector did not attempt to collect a debt from the neighbor or reveal the debt. If the collector is asked by a third party where they are calling from they must, under FDCPA, provide that information to the third party. It is not harassment and in complete compliance with Federal law. If you don’t want the person to contact you all you must do is state do not contact my anymore regarding (name). It might be annoying to the reference but definitely in compliance with the law.
forget the third party debt collection calls for a minute…
can agencies call the debtor continuously, several x a day..even tho you have told them “do not call again…”
is there any law/protection against this harassment..?
[...] (required) Mail (will not be published) (required) Website. Comments are not posted immediately. …Debt Collector's Call To Neighbor May Be Illegal …I sent IFP a copy of Kozlak's complaint (which I also forwarded to state officials) on … Depending [...]
The American Government is killin’ us. Why can’t the whole population get that the health care bill absolutely will drive up taxes for everyone and even invent brand new ones for all of us?
[...] Debt Collector's Call To Neighbor May Be Illegal [...]
As per the FDCPA debt collectors can call neighbors only to fine your whereabouts but not to harass them about your debts or to try to reach you. This is a violation of the FDCPA and these debt collectors can be sued under a court of law.