Recording the collectors phone call

[Lexy1969]

I had a collector call me today and I informed him that I was going to record the call. He said that he does not give me permission so I told him that the conversation was over and hung up. Is that a good idea to record these calls even if they say no? Or is of no use? I have been harassed before and wont put up with it anymore but I need a recording for proof.

[lostsoul23]

It depends. Some states require both parties be aware and some don't. Any respectable collector is already being recorded and/or being monitored. Sounds like he wasn't a respectable one.

[fellowpoorman]

Depending on the laws of your state, if your state says that you cannot record ,then you have to ask the collector for permission, if he agrees trhen he will abide by the FDCPA rules and laws (hopefully) , that is why some states, most I think, have that law. If he says no, then I don't see why you should even talk to them, just hang up or say correspond by mail, or turn on the radio and say they are on hold, and never return to the phone.remember that they know what they are doing, they know the laws and if you proceed in your CH7, you won't hear from them again. They will not play fair anyway so why talk to them? Good luck

[bezoar]

A good source

This is a pretty good source for recording laws. For instance, I'm in OK, and don't have to notify the other party that I am recording.

http://www.rcfp.org/taping/

[GoingDown]

Depending on the laws of your state, if your state says that you cannot record ,then you have to ask the collector for permission, if he agrees trhen he will abide by the FDCPA rules and laws (hopefully) , that is why some states, most I think, have that law. If he says no, then I don't see why you should even talk to them, just hang up or say correspond by mail, or turn on the radio and say they are on hold, and never return to the phone.remember that they know what they are doing, they know the laws and if you proceed in your CH7, you won't hear from them again. They will not play fair anyway so why talk to them? Good luck

That is the truth.

What do you hope to gain by talking to a debt collector? They are usually very well trained in how to trip you up during the conversation to get information from you which they can use against you at some later time. And at the very least, they are trying to talk you into paying them money. If you can't afford to pay these debts in full, then why would you want to pay even a token payment to a debt collector. All it does is revive the statute of limitations by resetting the clock on this debt. It's a very foolish thing to do.

And if you're trying to negotiate a settlement of this debt from the debt collector, first of all, good luck! You'll need it. And second, you will need their offer to be in writing and to contain some very specific information to completely release you from any further responsibility for this debt. For example, sometimes a debt collector will agree to "settle" for half of the debt, and then after you pay it, they sell the other half to a different junk debt buyer who then comes after you for the remaining half. You need to have some very specific wording in the written agreement between you and them to prevent this from happening.

If the debt collector was unwilling to let you record the phone call, there was probably a very good reason for it. And it probably involved violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Do you really think it is a good idea to be speaking to someone like that?

Get an answering machine and caller I.D., if you don't already have it, and just don't answer any calls from anyone you don't know. And send these people a Cease and Desist letter telling them to stop calling you on the telephone, and put these words in your letter "In accordance with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, I hereby demand that you stop any further communication with me by telephone. It is inconvenient for me to receive telephone calls from any debt collector at any time of the day or night and at any location."

[NASCAR20FAN]

As long as it is legal to do so in your state, and you inform the collector. What is the problem. I would think that turnabout should be fair play

[GoingDown]

As long as it is legal to do so in your state, and you inform the collector. What is the problem. I would think that turnabout should be fair play

I agree that it's nice to turn the tables on debt collectors, and IF you talk to them on the telephone, you had better record it. But, I know from my own personal experience in talking to them on the phone a few times that they are very skilled at the art of interrogation and verbally trying to force me to agree to things that I would never agree to if I was simply reading a letter from them.

They will...

1. Try to get you to admit that you owe the debt and all the interest and other fees

2. Try to get you to feel ashamed or afraid by accusing you of fraud and making implications and understated or implied threats

3. Try to get information about your employment, your marital status, and whether you own a home or any other assets

4. Try to get you to pay what they think you owe

5. They may offer a "settlement" or even a payment plan, but chances are they will not stand behind their offer. Unless you can pay off the debt in one lump sum payment and get them to agree in writing (using some very specific wording, by the way), then anything you pay to them will most likely never even reduce the amount that you actually owe on the debt. It will be just like taking that money and flushing it down a toilet. Because they will eat up that money in their outrageous fees and charges and keep coming after you for more and more money.

So, it's never wise to talk to debt collectors.

Why do you think that calling you six times a day on the telephone is the debt collector's method of choice? Obviously, it is the most effective way for them to get money out of you.

Debtors are often their own worst enemy. If every debtor in the whole United States would just stop talking to debt collectors on the phone, then their industry would have to go out of business. They make their money off of people like us. We are the ones who give them the money they need to buy houses, buy cars, send their kids to college, etc. Unfortunately, most people still don't understand that there is usually nothing to gain from talking to debt collectors.

[fellowpoorman]

Fact (from personal experience) Debtors are way under informed of their rights and FDCPA rules, Debtors are scared (I was). Collectors know this and will do anything, say anything to get your $$, The less you say to a collector the better, They can and DO RECORD EVERYTHING,Have you noticed that every collector that you talked to probobly has a common name aka Jack Martin, Joe Smith, Jane Kline etc. they lie about even their names.Once you file all this will stop. I discharged a Ch 7, and was hounde even 7 days into it, until all got the word, the worst was ACS and as an appropiate ending they went out of the way and said they will be at my 341 meeting, well they never showed and all the harassment stopped. Life is good today.

[anonymuse]

If you can't afford to pay these debts in full, then why would you want to pay even a token payment to a debt collector.

Most of us do absolutely everything we can to avoid BK and just keep thinking that things are going to turn around. When things first start getting bad, for many of us, BK was not even considered as an option. I may be well-educated and have a handful of degrees, but BK was just something you didn't do and I never knew the details about it until March when I probably could have and should have filed a year ago. You get on this weird type of "optimism" kick where you think that you've made it through every other type of shit in your life and you'll get yourself out of this mess someday too. It's not unrealistic thoughts either--you think that you are actually going to get a job at the same income as you were making before but are just going through a hard time at the moment finding it and getting medical insurance.

[copper2]

Good Idea

Good for you! I think that's a good tool to pass on. The Fair Debt Collection Practice Act stipulates boundaries for collectors - and I've read of counter-suits in violation of that act. It is within your rights to do so. Hence his "objection" I would guess....