A Phone Call from a Credit Card Debt Collector? . . . You Do Not Need to Take It.

Telephone calls have no legal weight since there is no record of what was said on a call. Knowing this, credit card debt collectors will say threatening things on the phone and get away with telling their lies. That is why consumer debt collectors choose to use the phone over mail. Debt collectors lose their power when communications are reduced to writing.

The record of written contact with a credit card debt collector is what holds weight in court. That record is a lot stronger when a consumer sends all letters certified return receipt requested.

Over the telephone credit card debt collectors lie a great deal. These are some of those lies:

1. They claim you are the target of a lawsuit in your local court and that you’ll get your summons any day.

2. They advise you to make an affordable token payment because they know that if you do this then you are documenting admission to the debt.

3. Debt collectors will threaten to have you arrested. No one can be arrested for a civil matter.

4. They threaten to have your wages garnished.

5. They tell you they can seize your bank account.

Each of these lies is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

On the phone, credit card debt collectors attempt to get you to admit to the debt, confirm the debt’s credit card number and share personal information like your Social Security number, your work place phone number, and your bank account information. According to the Credit Card Debt Survival Guide, at this point you should deny and dispute the debt (whether or not it is yours), tell them they are just a voice on the other end of the line. They could be anyone, and you do not share your personal financial information with strangers. Then hang up.

If you end up taking a call from a credit card debt collector, you should only stay on long enough to find out what debt they are telephoning about. Before hanging up, advise them that you need written notice of this debt and that you will not talk about it over the phone.

You should be aware that as a consumer the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act gives you the right to write to the debt collector to instruct them to stop telephoning you. If they continue, they are breaking the law and are liable to a $1000 penalty for each call made. Consumers are advised to log each phone call to interest a specialist consumer rights attorney in suing the debt collector on a contingency fee basis.

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