Consumers can protect themselves from debt collectors' errant calls Tampabay.com
These days, more and more people report getting "robo-dialed" by debt collectors looking for people with similar names, similar phone listings or similar addresses.
It's annoying, irritating and — when a collection call jolts you awake late at night — sometimes downright frightening.
Take Ted Gibson, a retired government economist in Sacramento, Calif. The phone directory lists him as "T. Gibson," which means he's frequently called by collectors looking for folks with similar initials.
Although he says he and his wife pay off their bills, do not run up credit card charges and have clean credit histories, "We receive five to six calls a week from various collection outfits" for other Gibsons whose first names start with T. Many of these other Gibsons appear to have multiple outstanding debts, Gibson says, "So there are a least a dozen different bill collectors hounding us night and day."
Federal officials say debt collection calls — including those to the wrong person — are increasing. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission logged 140,000 complaints about debt collectors, everything from calling the wrong person to leaving threatening messages.
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FTC Shuts Down The Debt Collector From Hell
If Hollywood movie makers ever make a movie called The Debt Collector From Hell, they will surely use this case as a source of inspiration.
The FTC has shut down a Southern California debt collection firm for violating the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
The business operated under a variety of names. In Ventura, they operated as Joseph, Steven & Associates and Specialized Debt Recovery. Share
The FTC says one collector told a woman unable to pay the balance on her daughter’s funeral bill that they were going to dig up the body and hang her from a tree if she didn’t pay.Officials say she was also told they would take her dog and eat it.I wonder if the collector ended their call with a ghastly Vincent Price style laugh. Mua ha ha ha….
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