Calling 3rd parties such as family, friends, employers, employees and neighbors is strictly prohibited when collectors already have your phone number!
Although a debt collector's search for information concerning the consumer's location (provided in section 804) is expressly excepted from the ban on third party contacts, debt collectors may not call third parties under the pretense of gaining information already in his possession
The only legal reason for calling neighbors (or any third party) is to locate you. If collectors already have your location information (home phone, home address or work phone and address) then, calling third parties is prohibited. The only possible reason for calling third parties, after they already have your location information, is to embarrass you; a clear violation of the FDCPA
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (aka FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. 1692 et seq., is a United States statute added in 1978 as Title VIII of the Consumer Credit Protection Act. Its purposes are to eliminate abusive practices in the collection of consumer debts, to promote fair debt collection and to provide consumers with an avenue for disputing and obtaining validation of debt information in order to ensure the information's accuracy. The Act creates guidelines under which debt collectors may conduct business, defines rights of consumers involved with debt collectors, and prescribes penalties and remedies for violations of the Act. It is sometimes used in conjunction with the Fair Credit Reporting Act
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