When a Stranger Calls…
by Michael Robin Cooke on Jun.06, 2009, under Kitschchaos, e-commerce
When a Stranger calls…. how to handle telemarketers and debt collectors.
The video clip is for purposes of humour, hopefully the telemarketer or debt collector calling you is less threatening. This is a post about those harassing telemarketing and debt collector calls, strangers calling you – and what you can do about it.
The National and global economy being what it is, companies closing an/or shedding jobs – more of us are home to have strangers call us, more of us are being harassed by debt collectors.
The calls aren’t as threatening as those in the “When a Stranger calls” movie – but they can be much more harassing and humiliating. If you are on a telemarketing call list, the calls can be relentless. If a collection agency is hounding you, they are counting on a combination of real harassment and your integrity to beg borrow or steal to get them to leave you alone.
You don’t deserve this. It’s not your fault the economy is what it is. If you’re on hard times, you need to manage your money very carefully and premeditatedly. You don’t need to buy anything being sold you by a stranger over the phone. You don’t need to sabotage your survival budget to make good on debts that don’t relate to necessities or possibilities. Things will get better, you’re working towards that -and then you’ll handle all your debt, now is not the time.
What can you do … when a stranger calls?
For telemarketing, the law is on your side. The National ‘do not call’ registry - this is an American Government website, if you add your phone number(s), including cell phone numbers, telemarketing companies are legally compelled to take you off their call lists. It can take 31 days, and the government ‘do not call registry’ website, https://www.donotcall.gov/ – is where you also go to report any telemarketer that calls you after those 31 days.
Debt collecting is a different story. The business you actually owe money to, is allowed to call you at will. Realize however, that any business you owe money to – they are too busy running a business to harass you with phone calls. Businesses out-source to independent debt collecting contractors, to harass you with phone calls. They will tell you who they are, they need you to pay them for them to get their cut.
Debt Collecting is Federally regulated, here’s the copy of The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (here’s the .pdf download – you may need to read it to a stubborn debt collector). The law requires that debt collectors and attorneys stop phoning you at home and at work once you ask them to stop. Your request must be in writing, so you should tell them to stop calling you at home and at work the next time they call, but then follow it up with a certified letter, return receipt requested. They’ll give you their address, they want a check.
If you need a sample script, so you know what to say, I found a good resource for that here.
In this economy, debt collecting agencies are simply vultures, trying to get you to pay off your credit card instead of rent or mortgage. On a cell phone, you literally pay for the privilege of being marketed to. Telemarketing and debt collection changes your relationship to the phone, instead of rushing to it expecting a friend or important news – it becomes a source of marketing or humiliation.
We don’t have to stand for this. The government has given us legal resources to defend outselves. USE IT!
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July 4th, 2009 on 6:12 pm
As ecommerce grows, so will its impact on the overall economy. An even larger increase in economy wide productivity levels may result from productivity gains by business firms and companies not engaged in e-commerce as they respond to this new source of competition. Businesses recognizing this new opportunity and seeing the potential impact of e-commerce is important for policy makers, and forecasters as they project economic activity for the future.
July 6th, 2009 on 3:04 pm
Hi! I like your srticle and I would like very much to read some more information on this issue. Will you post some more?
July 7th, 2009 on 12:15 am
Understand that I’ve been victim to marketer and bill collecting telephone harassment myself, and learning what I can do for myself is what has given me the information to share with you. This post is fairly complete. So if you want more information, please give me an idea of specifically what you want to know more about.
If all else fails, you can use a version of my favourite line from the movie ‘Desperate Living’: AAARRGGG! I owe you money? HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY REPAY THE SEVEN SECONDS YOU HAVE STOLEN FROM MY LIFE!!!!!!
July 13th, 2009 on 8:58 pm
There is nothing worse than having debt people phone you up every freaking week or day… the worst!
July 14th, 2009 on 1:33 pm
What a terrific resource. Thank you so much. I have been figting this fight pretty much unarmed, so I’m elated to have this information. Thanks again! — Charlie
August 11th, 2009 on 2:29 pm
I have this book called “how to get out of debt and live prosperously”, and it talks about how to deal with these harrassing callers. You can tell them not to call, which might take a while for them to stop, but if they are bill collectors, they have to stop immediately. Especially if you send them a letter in writing. The problem with that that I found is, the interest on your bill keeps going up. so I forgot about a bill I had told the collectors to stop ccalling for, and when I went to pay the bill, it was much higher, because of interest. which I forgot about. oops…