Original creditor calling me at work!

[CCsSuck]

Hi all,

CapitalOne has started calling me at work (I guess they are tired of talking to my google voicemail on do not disturb, lol). Anyway, for obvious reasons I don't want them calling here. Section 805(a)(3) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act says debt collectors can't call you at work if they know my employer prohibits such contacts. The two times they've called I've said repeatedly "I can't take personal calls at work, I can get fired, you'll have to call my cell phone." Unfortunately, my understanding is that since it is CapitalOne themselves who are actually calling me, and they are the original creditor, they do not count as debt collectors and therefore are exempt.

I wanted to send them a certified letter quoting the statute in hopes that'd force them to stop calling me -- will that work, or is my understanding correct? I'm screwed until/unless they farm out the debt to a third party? Anyone have any other ideas?

Thanks,
Mike!

[Freddy03]

Hi all,

CapitalOne has started calling me at work (I guess they are tired of talking to my google voicemail on do not disturb, lol). Anyway, for obvious reasons I don't want them calling here. Section 805(a)(3) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act says debt collectors can't call you at work if they know my employer prohibits such contacts. The two times they've called I've said repeatedly "I can't take personal calls at work, I can get fired, you'll have to call my cell phone." Unfortunately, my understanding is that since it is CapitalOne themselves who are actually calling me, and they are the original creditor, they do not count as debt collectors and therefore are exempt.

I wanted to send them a certified letter quoting the statute in hopes that'd force them to stop calling me -- will that work, or is my understanding correct? I'm screwed until/unless they farm out the debt to a third party? Anyone have any other ideas?

Thanks,
Mike!

I sent capital one a cert ceast and desist letter b/c they were calling me at work and I was quickly served with a summons 10 days later. Good Luck!

[df04527]

Cap One is ruthless but they will eventually give up. Have you filed? That will stop them. C&D letter will not ... Save your stamp

[Freddy03]

Cap One is ruthless but they will eventually give up. Have you filed? That will stop them. C&D letter will not ... Save your stamp

I keep track of FL CC cases and Cap One hasn't been giving up lately nor have they been selling to a JDB. I was sued for a small amount under 2k.

[CCsSuck]

I sent capital one a cert ceast and desist letter b/c they were calling me at work and I was quickly served with a summons 10 days later. Good Luck!

Ugh. That's not very encouraging!

Cap One is ruthless but they will eventually give up. Have you filed? That will stop them. C&D letter will not ... Save your stamp

I won't be in a position to consider filing for about a year, lol.

Florida's collection statutes aren't particularly helpful, either... I did find this though: 599.72(4) states that in collection consumer debts, no person shall "Communicate or threaten to communicate with a debtor’s employer before obtaining final judgment against the debtor, unless the debtor gives her or his permission in writing to contact her or his employer or acknowledges in writing the existence of the debt after the debt has been placed for collection. However, this does not prohibit a person from telling the debtor that her or his employer will be contacted if a final judgment is obtained."

The thing is they aren't necessarily communicating with my employer, they are calling my work and asking to talk to me directly about a "business matter." Can this statute help?

[CCsSuck]

@Freddy - Ugh. I owe them right around 2k, lol. How long did they take to serve you after default?

[Freddy03]

@Freddy - Ugh. I owe them right around 2k, lol. How long did they take to serve you after default?

I stopped paying June 09
Set up a crazy payment arrangment in Oct 09
Made 2 payments stopped in Jan 10
Served March 10

Good thing with this case was they dismissed it because at mediation the attorney could not prove why the summons amount was less then amount due including attorney fees. So they dismissed the case and haven't tried to re-sue me yet.

[CCsSuck]

I stopped paying June 09
Set up a crazy payment arrangment in Oct 09
Made 2 payments stopped in Jan 10
Served March 10

Good thing with this case was they dismissed it because at mediation the attorney could not prove why the summons amount was less then amount due including attorney fees. So they dismissed the case and haven't tried to re-sue me yet.

Wow, they really don't waste any time. I have no interest in communicating with any of my creditors at this point -- certainly not over the phone. If I do any talking with them it will be in writing, but Cap1 hasn't sent me anything other than a statement with some red ink on it so far. They sure like to call, though, lol.

[jwmc1]

I was sued by CapOne 3 times. They are a drag.

[df04527]

I meant they will give up calling. Suing? Absolutely they will...... they also hang on to their collections, in-house, most of the time. Some they sell. Who knows what triggers them to sell. They are nasty along with several others.

[Bell30656]

This is one disadvantage to the ostrich approach. When you bury your head in the sand using a phone number that goes nowhere but allows you to hide from the creditors some of them will use methods such as calling you at work, calling your neighbors or even calling people with the same last name as you in the phone book.

Give the creditor another number at which they can reach you and tell them when it is convenient to call. Then answer their calls, confirm your identity and tell them to that you won't discuss financial matters over the telephone. Sure, they'll continue to call but it will on a phone number that you don't care about not your work.

[jwmc1]

I basically used my cell phone for everything and had my Google number forwarded. That way you can use do not disturb, but also answer when you can.

[CCsSuck]

This is one disadvantage to the ostrich approach. When you bury your head in the sand using a phone number that goes nowhere but allows you to hide from the creditors some of them will use methods such as calling you at work, calling your neighbors or even calling people with the same last name as you in the phone book.

Give the creditor another number at which they can reach you and tell them when it is convenient to call. Then answer their calls, confirm your identity and tell them to that you won't discuss financial matters over the telephone. Sure, they'll continue to call but it will on a phone number that you don't care about not your work.

I guess I really hadn't thought about it that way. My voice mail does say my name on it, though (but with the auto dialers, they've probably never even heard the message, lol). Talking to them at all just stresses me out. If they would just send me something in the mail (other than simply a statement), I'd have no issue writing them back. It's funny to me that I haven't received one offer to settle or even threats to be sued yet. Weird.

[GoingDown]

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act does not apply to Original Creditors, but many of them voluntarily follow it anyways. If you do not want them calling you at work, I would send them a Cease and Desist Letter immediately. It might work.

Since they know you are employed, and since this is CrapOne they are very likely to sue you, no matter what you do, at least anything short of paying them off. So, unless you live in a state that doesn't allow wage garnishment, you had better brace for impact. About the only way to get out of this situation in your case is to file bankruptcy as soon as possible.

[CCsSuck]

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act does not apply to Original Creditors, but many of them voluntarily follow it anyways. If you do not want them calling you at work, I would send them a Cease and Desist Letter immediately. It might work.

Since they know you are employed, and since this is CrapOne they are very likely to sue you, no matter what you do, at least anything short of paying them off. So, unless you live in a state that doesn't allow wage garnishment, you had better brace for impact. About the only way to get out of this situation in your case is to file bankruptcy as soon as possible.

I ended up sending them a letter making it clear it wasn't a refusal to pay them, that I was aware the account was pastdue (didn't specify whether or not I agreed with anything, though), referenced the dates and times I was called at work, refered to my companys strict no personal call policy, and suggested they correspond with me in writing or call my cell (I gave them the number again) as an alternative number to call if they needed to get in touch with me. I also pointed out the fact that me losing my job wouldn't benefit either of us, lol. I don't want to raise the victory flag quite yet, but I haven't received any more calls here and I hope it stays that way. *crosses fingers*