Hello. We have all been victims of these "'loan sharks " and it's time to just buckle down, take the lumps and pay the price. We were desperate, we sign the contract took the money and did what we needed to do.
Now, we must pay back the loan and should, but there is no reason to take the harassing phone calls and e-mails.
Did you know that if you sent them a letter or fax to ask them to stop calling you at work or home by law they are required to do so?
You can tell them that you do not want to be called at home or place of business and by law they must do so. If they do not want to comply to your letter then you can legally take them to court and sue them.
Please read the following from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act:
The FDCPA sets guidelines that collection agencies must follow. If a violation is brought to the attention of the Federal Trade Commission or the state Attorney General, the collection agency may be sued or even closed by the government. [4] For this reason, collection agencies are often very strict in requiring their employees follow not only every provision of the FDCPA, but also any possible precedent set by legal proceedings against collection agencies.
In general, the FDCPA requires that collection agencies do the following:
Send an initial letter notifying the consumer of the existence of the debt, and that a collection agency is now involved.
Send legal verification that the person owes the debt, but only if the debtor requests this in writing|. Most agencies will send proof upon oral request, but they are not required to do so.
Only call between 8AM and 9PM, by the debtor's local time, unless the debtor has given permission to call outside these times.
Make no more than one contact (actually speaking to the debtor) to the debtor per day, unless the debtor specifically requests more calls. (Multiple calls can be placed, but unless the debtor is spoken with, additional calls can commence within the same day.)
Cease calling the debtor's place of employment if the debtor requests them to do so.
Cease calling the debtor at home if they receive a letter from the debtor in writing instructing them to do so. At that point, they are allowed to contact the debtor a final time to inform the debtor that they will no longer be calling, the amount owed on the debt, and what action they intend to take (such as a lawsuit).
Only communicate information about the debt to the debtor or his/her spouse. However, if asked, a bill collector is required to identify themselves and the company they work for to anyone they are talking to.
Debt collectors may not swear, insult the debtor, or threaten the debtor. Note that threat is defined by the FDCPA as a statement that the bill collector will initiate physical violence or a claim they will take an action that they do not intend to take. To claim that they will initiate a lawsuit to enforce collection of the debt does not constitute a threat unless they have no intention to actually do so.
Cease communication with the debtor when notified the debtor has filed for Bankruptcy.
Anyway, I hope this helps. I'm a victim too but I'm not going to to let them ruin my life.
PS. Dont let them talk you into doing money grams. The collection person gets a little $ for asking you to send the payment via money gram. That's why they want you to do money gram and not just walk the payment in.
Also, you can ask them not to take the money out of your checking acct and must comply with your request. They have big campaigns almost every month to get customers back on this program for payments. That's another insentive for the collection person as well. If those numbers look good at the end of the month, BONUS TIME!!
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