Collector threatened me on my voicemail and I've already filed, what should I do?

[chrisandsarah]

The title pretty much says it all... A collector called and threatened me saying that they were going to press criminal charges against me if I didn't pay them by Friday (they left me the message yesterday) and that they would also contact my employer (now ex-employer) to find out my address and come to my house (for what I don't know...). I know that they can't press criminal charges against me so I'm not worried about that but what can I do? I don't want anyone to show up at my house and I've filed chapter 7 on Oct. 31 and had my 341 last week. I saved the voicemail just in case... Thanks...

[gem561]

Wow! The nerve of them. I filed on oct. 31st as well, my meeting is tmrw. How did yours go? All of my collection calls have seemed to cease. I made a rule not to listen to vm or answer their calls because my lawyer told me that it is their job to try and scare to living crappola out of you. If not for their money, but for their time theyve spent trying to collect it. So as soon as i got a " Hello this msg is for..." #7 and DELETE. Sure enough my lawyer seemed to be right =)

[drowningNdebt]

No one is going to show up at your house. I would save that voice mail and press harrassment charges on them. That is clearly breaking the law!

[chrisandsarah]

how would i go about pressing harrassment charges against them? i can't believe they had the nerve to do that... my husband filed before i did and he had a couple send him some mail, but they've backed off now.

my meeting was ok, but i was last in line and they drilled me with questions for about 15 min, but none of it was anything to get stressed about. just things i already knew, like typical info about myself and husband, if we had kids, what the debt was generally for, if we were sure we didn't have any other assets, what kind of car i have, etc. piece of cake...

[Bandit]

first, tell your attorney & see what they say about it. it is possible that particular collector did not get the letter, so they would not know about the stay. do you recall if you listed them to get a notice of the BK?

maybe, you can get them to send something in the mail along with the recording & you might be able to get some money. they are not even supposed to try any kind of collections during this time.

[chrisandsarah]

I actually filed pro se, I do believe they are on the mailing matrix... But I am going to plan on calling them back and telling them about the bk just in case and then also send a letter. Who would I send the recording to? And I guess how? It's saved on my voicemail, I think I might be able to forward the message to another phone... Thanks for all the feedback so far!

[Bandit]

I actually filed pro se, I do believe they are on the mailing matrix... But I am going to plan on calling them back and telling them about the bk just in case and then also send a letter. Who would I send the recording to? And I guess how? It's saved on my voicemail, I think I might be able to forward the message to another phone... Thanks for all the feedback so far!

Since you are pro se, you are on your own & would have to enter that law & try to do it on your own by defending yourself in court in a suit. you dont send it to anyone, rather use it in court as evidence. You can also get the number who called from the phone bill or caller ID.

If that were me, I would need to get an attorney to litigate all that to be succesful.

I think you are doing the right thing by calling them & maybe sending a letter that you filed. They will stop calling you then.

[jktrading]

how would i go about pressing harrassment charges against them? i can't believe they had the nerve to do that... my husband filed before i did and he had a couple send him some mail, but they've backed off now.

my meeting was ok, but i was last in line and they drilled me with questions for about 15 min, but none of it was anything to get stressed about. just things i already knew, like typical info about myself and husband, if we had kids, what the debt was generally for, if we were sure we didn't have any other assets, what kind of car i have, etc. piece of cake...

Just call your local police department non-emergency number and ask what you can do. The part about coming to your home sounds like a physical threat to me. They cannot do that without consequences.

[Bell30656]

One great advantage to having an attorney for the bankruptcy is being able to tell a creditor that calls: "It's December 4th, 5:07 PM and I'm informing you that I am represented by an attorney reference this debt. The attorney's name is XXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXX and he can be reached at XXX-XXX-XXXX. You understand that in accord with the FDCA you can no longer contact me directly about this debt. Please have your attorneys contact mine."

Then they usually counter with something like; What chapter are you filing? Are you filing bankruptcy? Are you suing us? Etc, Etc. I simply tell them again to have their attorneys get in touch with mine and to have a nice day.

I'm sure that your debt collector is an idiot. He left threatening messages on a recording. He's counting on the fact that you won't complain loudly enough or file a suit for violations of the FDCA which would be an open and shut.

[Flamingo]

The issue here is whether or not that creditor received your BK filing paperwork. After we filed, we had several creditors contact us about two to three weeks after filing who had not yet received anything. All we had to do was give them our attorney information and case filing number and it all stopped. Since you are pro se and have filed, call this creditor back and give them your filing date and case number and tell them you plan to send their threatening gestures on tape to your local police department for further evaluation. Unfortunately, without an attorney, you are on your own with this. Best of luck to you...

[downwardspiral]

Wow, they are just trying to scare you. They can't come after you, especially if you've already filed. I"d give that information to your attorney. He's breaking the law.

[Flamingo]

Wow, they are just trying to scare you. They can't come after you, especially if you've already filed. I"d give that information to your attorney. He's breaking the law.

The OP filed pro se.

[2009WillBeGREAT]

Crazy! I had a collection agency call me years ago. The woman actually said, "I know where you live and I will be over to collect when we get off the phone". My mom was in from another state for a visit, and she just cracked up when she heard what I told that woman! They are idiots. Now, that being said, my sister used to be in collections YEARS ago, so trust me, they will NOT show up at your house and you SHOULD file criminal charges against them. DO NOT get rid of that message. Call an attorney. They love that kind of crap.

[willowhare]

They can't file criminal charges

No collection agency can file criminal charges against you. The most that can be done is a civil case against you, but since you've filed, the point is moot.

You need to report these people right away. First, call the collection agency, and ask to speak to the supervisor of the person that called you, or a manager if you don't have the caller's name. Detail what was recorded on your answering machine. Inform them that you know that this message violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and also provide them with your bankruptcy case number. Hopefully, that will get the person who called you fired.

Then, get in touch with the Federal Trade Commission, the regulatory body for collections agencies (ftc.org).

If you don't know what the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is, look it up at the FTC website. Consumers do have some protections from agressive and harassing collectors.

[chrisandsarah]

Hi all, Thanks for the great responses.

I did end up calling and leaving a voicemail for the supervisor with my bk case number and asked that they stop calling. Well... a couple of hours later I got a call from someone else who left a message saying "I'm calling from 1st National and I need to speak with you immediately about your court date, it is urgent that you call me back at..." Well the number she left is the exact same number I called! Also the company is not 1st National, it's PayDay Loan Yes. And when you call the number it says nothing about 1st National anything.

The odd thing is that this is the 1st time I've gotten calls from them since I had the loan back in March, I made 2 payments and then couldn't anymore, but even paying only those 2 payments I paid back what I borrowed and then some but they still say I owe $500... This isn't possible. And I didn't actually give them a check, I gave them my bank account info (which is no longer valid) so I'm sure they can't try to press criminal charges.

I guess now what? I left a message for the supervisor and it obviously did nothing. I guess this is what I get for filing pro se...