Wow i can relate to this. My mom once had a finance company threaten to come in her house and take whatever items they needed to in order to pay back the loan she had with them. When i heard this i called them back up and spoke to the man in charge who issued this threat to her. I stated very clearly and plainly that if he wishes to come into her home without invitation and take whatever he wishes then he can try catching the bullets i throw at him with my 38 and see how much he can get for those also. He asked if i was threatening him over the phone, in which i replied no i wasnt threating him at all. i was making him a solemn vow that if he forcibly enters my mothers home while we live in the United States of America then i will exercise my right to blow his head off. LOL
He never called again...

This is some messed up stuff. I have to agree with the op and tristar, we're going to have to stand up for our fellow man . As I've posted before, in Mexico they protest anything that is going to cost them and then they protest because they lost wages having to protest to begin with.

I'm in the UK and these debt collectors use very similar tactics here too.
Bailiffs are allowed to enter your property and take goods from your home in order to repay a debt..

Debt collectors aren't. They can't make threats or play dirty tricks, but they do.
Intimidation and fear runs many a society as of late.

There are parts of Europe here many have access to all manner of weapons, France included.

It's only the UK that seems to have an 'blanket ban' on gun ownership. You're either in a very elite gun club, an owner of an estate/farm that requires a shot gun or you're a member of some security/military/police group where guns are ok.

If the UK had access to guns like the USA does, then it would be very interesting to say the least.

Many do stand up and say 'no' to these people, others know how to 'play the game' and delay repayments or make the minimum of effort to repay.
For example, you can claim hardship and offer to pay back 50 pence a week. They must accept it. You had originally 'promised' to pay back a loan. You had agreed repayments of X amount, but now you can't meet those payments but you can afford 50p.. you are still fulfilling your promise to pay back the loan .. Just not in the way they'd like ..

The truth is i dont own a gun nor do i know if i would shoot someone. However that being that the guy on the phone didnt knwo that and of all things i live in texas and we are known for being crazy gun toting people who love the death penalty. LOL Anyways i dont count myself among those who advocate violence for such reasons. IF i was trying to save my life or my familys maybe but thats a topic for another thread.

I wanted to say that in the case of my mom she had taken out a loan and put certain things up for collateral for the loan. It was this collateral they were wanting to come get in payment for the loan. The problem with this is that in order for the loan company to collect this collateral they like any other lending institution in this country, have to take you to court and a judge has to issue a judgement for collection of the collateral. It is against the constitution for anyone to enter your home through force and seize your property unless it is the police and even they have to have a warrent or probobal cause of a crime being commited. Again that last statement is a topic for another thread. To the police probable cause can be anything.
But i digress... Point is this guy was way out of line in trying to intimidate an older woman with the loss of her valuables for having gotten into a financial situation she couldnt get out of. All this while she was dealing with the loss of my father from cancer who was the financial head of the house. My mom never worked and was a housewife.
It doesnt suprise me as to what lenghts people go to in order to collect money. It disgusts me at how the hospital i work for treats people who dont pay. They are downright rude and to me ugly. I undertsand the need to get paid and i also understand how it is in the world today with finances. Its hard and its getting harder.

So in the UK they can come in your home and take your stuff with a bailiff? Is that after some sort of trial or does the lender just have to go down and show a defaulted loan and show the collateral used to secure the loan and ask for someone to go collect it?

A message one of the collectors left on a social networking site:

haha you guys i tricked you all my name is actually Emily and i work for cbv collections as a skip tracer i bet you guys got calls from them saying you owe money thats all my doing you want to call and bitch? i dare you to call me 604-[redacted]!!! I wait to hear from you "

The nerve of that collector. I'd spam her number all over the internet, especially on places where a bunch of really rude, angry people have nothing better to do but call her at three in the morning.

I worked as a skip tracer for about 6 months a number of years back for a collection agency. It was not one of my highlights in my working career.

The way it works... skip tracers are not considered actual "collectors" so they can use ANY and all means of connivery to track down and locate a reliable number to reach a debtor, within very large boundaries. The actual collectors you talk to are the ones who have to work within the FDCPA act.

It got so bad in those days, that now most collection agencies cannot actually call a debtor in the same state, because it led to tracers looking outside of work for locations and numbers. You have to remember that they get paid on commissions of those debts being paid.

There are some nasty tricks I learned along the way (that I still use from time to time to find somebody) that I am sure have been improved on with the advent of social networking sites.

Our motto was "Though the cracks are numerous to hide in, tracers are the dirt beneath".... sad, but true.

The only safe way to "hide" is never admit who you are.

I got an even worse situation in some ways...
Collections agents are harassing me because someone is obviously running around putting my phone number on their credit applications. The funniest part is that, based on the name, its obviously someone of another sex, and race. You think that these scum suckers would catch on to that fact, accept that they have the wrong phone number, and leave me in peace, but no…

I explain all this to them, and the next time they call I get a, “We’re sorry Mr. Defcon, we don’t know how your number got back into our system”, or a “Well, they put your number under ‘Potential’, rather then removed it entirely”. It would almost be humorous at this point, except that I work the night shift, and these folks are calling me in the middle of my night. There seems to be no way to stop them from harassing you if you are the wrong person because they have to follow even fewer rules with you then the actual person they are trying to collect from. They claim that you’re hiding the real person from them.

THEN…

If you do get one to stop calling, they consider the debt un-collectable, bundle it up, and sell it to ANOTHER agency, INCLUDING my phone number.
Wash, rinse, repeat…. FOR 3 YEARS NOW!!!

I would change phone numbers, but I have a sneaking suspicion it would be the same act looking for a new set of people.

I was just sitting here looking up new and more inventive ways to screw with these folks, when they inevitably call me tomorrow, and I came across this thread.

Tomorrow I am thinking of answering the phone: “Defcon, Defcon, and Defcon Attorneys at Law, how can I help you?”… Does anyone know if that is legal or not? Is it legal to answer the phone impersonating a secretary at a fictional law firm? Could that fall under "Impersonating an Attorney"? If so I think there would be a lot more attorneys in jail…

If that one doesn’t do the trick , I am considering telling them that I am the person they are looking for, and “please take me to court, put a judgment against me, garnish my wages, and place a lien on my property.” Again, legalities anyone? Maybe that will at least teach this person to not use another persons phone number, or at least not mine.

So what you all think?
Any better suggestions to get them to quit?
I am at my wits end with these folks ridicules tactics.

i dont mean to be rude - but what is these peoples problem ? yes i admit some tactics are ` less than ethical ` - but so is keeping a car you are no longer paying for

like i say - i have sympathy for those in financial straits - but so do many finance institutions

a freind of mine has 2 works vehicles on lease - and BEFORWE missing a single payment - he got the deal restructured - he is now paying 60% of the lease charges - BUT accrueing interest on the other 40% to be paid back in 1 year

if business picks up - he will have only paid about 300 pounds extra - but if he is in a worse state - he could face difficulties

there are solutions

Originally posted by defcon5
I would change phone numbers, but I have a sneaking suspicion it would be the same act looking for a new set of people.

Yeah, I got a new cellphone a couple of years ago and immediately started getting calls from collectors looking for the last person who had the number. Doesn't matter what you tell them, they just call and call and call. Annoying because I've never had an outstanding debt but I had to deal with someone else's crap. The only thing I could do was get rid of the phone number.

So what you all think?
Any better suggestions to get them to quit?
I am at my wits end with these folks ridicules tactics.

I've got to the point where I just screen every call I get. If I don't recognize the number I don't answer the phone - period. If it's important they'll leave a message.

Originally posted by mythatsabigprobe
Annoying because I've never had an outstanding debt but I had to deal with someone else's crap.

Exactly, I went through my credit card debt youth period a long time ago, got it all back to prefect. Having to deal with other peoples crap is just plain annoying. I suppose I could get a new number, but with how fast they recycle numbers now, and with how bad the economy is; I am sure I will just get more calls for a different person.

Originally posted by mythatsabigprobe
I've got to the point where I just screen every call I get. If I don't recognize the number I don't answer the phone - period. If it's important they'll leave a message.

Yeah, the spoofing thing makes that more difficult though because they often look like legit local calls. Also, remember they are doing this during what is effectively the middle of the night for me, as I am a shift worker. So no matter if I answer the phone or not, it still wakes me up when it rings and I check the ID. I have had folks tell me to unplug the phone, but that is just not feasible, as my family needs to be able to reach me in the case of an emergency during the day.

Oh, another funny one… Try telling them that you are on the “No Call Registry”, that one was good for a laugh… I had one lady actually believing she was a telemarketer.