Epoch Times: Debt collectors can now text, email, and send direct messages to borrowers on social media after new rules approved by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took effect on Tuesday.
The new rules clarify how debt collectors can use email, text messages, social media, and other contemporary methods to communicate with consumers. It also enables borrowers to limit the ability of debt collectors to contact them through such communication methods.
While debt collectors are able to contact borrowers via an array of communication methods, the 1977 Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits harassing, abusive, and unfair debt collection practices as well as false and misleading representations by debt collectors.
Under the new rules, debt collectors who contact borrowers on social media have to identify themselves as such and give consumers the option to opt of out being contacted online. MORE
I’m out, I hate debt collectors and fortunately all my bills are paid off so I don’t have to deal with these jerks anymore. The head collector at my credit union my late wife called the Barracuda, she was a nasty person who I once got into a large very animated profanity ridden phone conversation once after my wife died and I had my wife’s bills to pay off as well. But she did one good thing and helped me consolidate all my bills including reducing my house payment by $280 a month by refinancing it. She was surprised when I gave her a $25 Starbucks gift card for doing that. But I still don’t like bill collectors and especially annoying asshole scammers who try to scam me over the phone and on the internet, I hate those bastards the most.
Yeah, but they can’t reach me at iotw!
Suckers!
Pro tip:
Never engage with debt collectors.
Never send them a fraction of what is owed if you don’t intend to pay it off fully.
By acknowledging the debt and making a payment it resets the statute of limitations clock, which is seven years in many states.
When you agree to credit terms, you should make every effort to pay your debt, or at least work with your creditors instead of hiding.
I’ve had to deal with recovering unpaid merchandise. It can be very unpleasant.
Too many of these people still seem to have money for drugs, booze, and cigarettes.
No debt collector better try contact and harass me. Because I have no debt for them to try to collect on.
Last idjit tried to collect on a debt that had been discharged through bankruptcy (someone else’s, not mine).
geoff the aardvark, I was a debt collector for a while. I hated me, too!
The last time I did a job like that was when the hospital I worked for made me go to a patient’s room to ‘discuss’ their bill. I went, but just to chat with her to see how she was doing and told her that if she had any questions about her stay to let me know.
She paid her bill as she was being discharged and I got a promotion to work with insurance companies to make sure they paid according to our contract with them. I didn’t mind calling them to make them pay correctly!
I’ve got no debt, so I get no calls, and now will get no texts nor email from collectors. Should I ever get on some list by mistake, I think I’ll start answering my phone by saying “Argo”.
(That’ll make sense if you’ve seen the movie.)
Loco and Sax both have good advice.
There are 10,000 collections agencies in the US and maybe 1% are any good. The rest are unethical, disgusting boiler room operations staffed by alcoholics and drug addicts.
The worst agencies are the ones that collect monies from debtors for their clients and then never remit the money to their clients. Despicable.