Debt Collectors: HuffPost Readers' Weirdest Harassment Stories (AUDIO)

Debt collectors perform a useful function. They recover scads of bad debt for creditors -- an estimated $40 billion worth in 2007 -- that helps keep lending costs down for credit card companies and others. And, per the industry's reputable trade group, ACA International, "debt collectors often get flowers and thank you letters from grateful consumers."

Last week the Huffington Post asked readers for their weirdest debt collector stories. We received many tales of harassment, but none of flowers and thank yous. (We would like to! Send 'em to [e-mail].)

One woman wrote that debt collectors had been calling her over a debt that belonged to her husband's previous wife ("No need to tell you how mad it made me feel getting phone calls about my husband's ex's debts"). Another reader wrote that collectors were on his case for a credit card debt his dad allegedly owed when he passed away.

"They only stopped after I sent back a bill, unopened," the reader wrote. "I had left my father's name on it but had crossed out my address and wrote in the recipient's new address as: #1 Cloud Way, Heaven."

One of the best stories came from Billy Green, 47, of San Francisco, California. His debt collector troubles date all the way back to 1991, when he had some trouble leasing a trombone.

"I tried to rent a trombone and they ran a credit check on me," he said in a telephone interview with the Huffington Post. "They said, 'We wanted to ask you about this problem that you have when you were living in San Leandro.' I'd never lived in San Leandro."

William Green is something of a common name, it turns out.

Here's Green's letter to HuffPost:

I have had several instances of companies request credit reports for me and receive the report of a different "William Green" instead. I have been told variously that I have tax liens against me, that I'm a serial check bouncer, that I have defaulted on home loans and any number of other credit sins that I've never performed.

Story continues below

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Several years ago, my bank sent me a notice that they had cut the credit limit on my Visa card to $1,000 because of a credit report they received. Trying to find out what the credit report said was like pulling teeth. For a week or so, they refused to give me any details of my alleged sins that had caused them to reduce my credit limit. When they finally told me that it was because I had defaulted on a home loan when I lived in San Jose a couple of years earlier, I nearly lost it. I asked if it had ever occurred to them to check their own records -- having banked with them for many years, they should already know that I have never lived in San Jose, and that I've never even bought a house anywhere, much less defaulted on a home loan. My credit limit was restored in a matter of minutes.

Every few years, a collection agency contacts me regarding debts owed by "Wiley Green." After a few calls, they admit that they considered it a long shot based on similarity of names (thinking if I'm not him, maybe I'm related), and they give it up. But every couple of years the letters start arriving for "Wiley Green" again, and the cycle starts anew. At this point, it's more of an annoyance than anything else, kind of like mosquito season.

Poor Wiley Green, wherever he is. But collectors have an ingenious trick for foisting a phony identity on the real William Green:

The most current tactic seems to be for collectors to use an automated dialer and a recording. In the calls I have received on my answering machine in recent weeks, the recording begins by saying "We are trying to reach Wally Green regarding an unpaid debt. If you have not hung up by this point, we assume that you acknowledge that you are Wally Green." I've not heard any more of this recording because either my answering machine or their calling machine tends to hang up around this point.

Here's audio of the voicemail for Wally Green:

As for the trombone, Green said that the rental went through in the end.

Comments

[sofafilms]

After surgery I was contacted (multiple times) by a debt collection agency who claimed I owed the hospital $500. I insisted I had paid all my bills in full. They wanted evidence, so I went though all of the paperwork carefully and discovered that I had OVERPAID $500! I faxed everything to them and suggested they work for me to recover the overage from the hospital. At that point they finally stopped harassing me.

[FabricAssasin]

There are specific steps to take to get these folks to leave you alone, and several places on the web that give you letter templates-- all official contact must be in writing.

You are NOT required to prove you paid the debt. They are required to prove you owe it. I have written 5 or 6 of these "I don't owe you, leave me alone unless you can prove I owe this debt" letters, and have NEVER gotten a reply. But it has been entertaining when I try to force the callers to give me their full names and company names, THEN inform them they are in violation of the law, and THEN tell them I am contacting FTC in preparation for suing them for harrassment. You rarely get another call after that.

[Cogs]

You've experienced hell on earth when they start calling from J.C. Penney. My wife was in Florida at her dying's mother's bedside when Penney's called about a monthly payment of $80.00 that was past due. The debt collector listened as to why the payment had not been mailed and then asked for the phone number of the hospice.

[belong]

When you realize that their commissions are based on how much money they collect, you can see why they are so ruthless, which absolutely does not excuse this behavior. If they were salaried, you would probably have more reasonable collection agents. And, hey, maybe a better return beause they don't pi** people off.

[Paige107]

Two male friends of mine Fred and Jan (pronounced: Yon) bought a house together. Eventually, Jan got married and moved out. During the refinancing, Fred pulled his credit report and got a surprise: apparently, he was married ... to a 'Janice'.

Fred's response? Called Jan's wife to tell her Jan was already married.

[Ramus]

I have received calls from collection agencies looking to contact other peope. One was a neighbor. there were about 10 calls left on my machine. And another call was for somebody with the same last name. I keep my voicemail on and the phone ringer off and the sound on the voicemail machine off - all the time. I return calls to people I wish to speak with. It makes life a lot more pleasant

[belong]

Many years ago, my roommate and I started getting calls from the collection department of a very well known US company. They wanted the payment for a copying machine. The first time they called, I explained that this was a residence and there was no copying machine in our apartment. These calls continued for months, with the caller becoming more and more aggressive and accusing us of hiding the person who owed the money for the copier. Finally, I became so enraged by these repeated, and increasingly rude calls, I checked the phone book and the number for the person they were seeking was one digit off from ours. I called them back and told them--and asked if it ever occurred to them to check the number. I actually filed a complaint with the Attorney General in Missouri due to this repeated harrassment. Because I never kept records of the exact dates and times, they were able to say they only called us once and then found the correct number. I've not bought any items from this company since that time.

[MNinWI]

Please tell us who it is.

[Donns]

Let's start posting the identifications of these callers for public scrutiny. Things that normally live under rocks hate the light. Find out if you can where they live and (always stay within the law) embarass them in front of their family, friends and neighbors. If they threaten you then take legal action in any way possible.

[desultory]

Actually, you can usually google the phone number to find out more about what company is calling, and then get the dirt on their collection practices. Enter the number as you see it on caller id, with dashes or spaces between the area code, exchange, and final four digits. Sometimes this will bring up one of a number of debt collectors suck type pages, with lots of comments from their victims. However, the collectors themselves will NEVER reveal their actual name or anything personal contact info, and I bet they don't even tell too many people what they do for a living.

[Davwbaird]

Yes that is what we do. I mean things are bad. Up until June of last year we were able to pay our bills on time. Then I had to stop in order to get through the down months in my business. Now all months are down months business has slowed even more so. Any body know what I mean.

Had to turn in my car, could not sell since Nissan was offering deals on new cars that were better than the price on my 2 year old car.Now they are coming at me for the $5,999 they did not get at the auction. Called them and wondered why I had been so nice in taking the car into the dealer? And where did they expect me to get money that I don't have. IN my 45 years as an adult I have never seen it this bad.

[Daisy2lu]

I totally agree! One debt collector - Howard Worley from LTD Financial Services in Houston Texas accused me of killing my mother, threatened that courts would not approve my bankruptcy, lied about a debt collection agency proposal being rejected and among other things, called members of my husband's family looking for me!!! I complained to the FTC and Better Business Bureau of Houston,, TX. HOWARD WORLEY'S reponse was that he never said these things to me and that I contacted them. Also they never contacted me by mail like they said they did. I make it a point not to speak to debt collectors whatsoever. I deal with the company with whom I have an agreement. I will continue to pursue a civil lawsuit against this agency for defamation of character and other charges of verbal abuse. Please post if you have been abused by LTD Financial Services and Howard Worley

[dieselis]

i'm disabled swimming in debt from medical bills.its never going to stop because it always something. they call i just tell them i don't have it. one lady said can you have a friend that can pay it for you. i said your my friend how about you pay it for me.

[LeighAnnes]

Declare bankruptcy. Then they have to stop calling you.

[tivojunkie]

My favorite: after I told a collector that we were filing either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy she asked if I had any money in a 401K. She then advised that I should take my 401K money out to pay off my debts! (401Ks are protected in BK).

[mcarlsonus]

"(401Ks are protected in BK)." And, by the way, so is Social Security income and, arguably, unemployment compensation. REMEMBER: you're dealing with individuals who are NOT hired for knowledge of legal collections policy, have absolutely NO reason to tell you the truth, and whose income is SOLELY based on getting you to pay SOMETHING!

[monoxboogie]

I had moved from Cali to NYC and owed about 600 bucks that I was unaware of. I had lots of test and other things done so it was a bit difficult for me to keep track of everything. So I moved (because of a terrible break up with a lady, it fits into the story). So flash forward about 3 months and apparently they had started calling my ex because they couldn't find me. So she then starts calling and harassing me. She thought I tried to transfer the debt to her. So I called the company and asked them how they got her number. Also could they call and let her know it was their fault. They, of course, said no. Wishful thinking. I finally got it under control and told her that it was taken care of. The entire time, the company tried telling me I owed thousands when I had the bill in front of me (finally unpacked it) for about 600 dollars. They're all skeeze bags.

[bayside]

We purchased a business a few years back after the guy running in defaulted on some loans. My husband has the same first name as the defaulter so the bill collector said you have the same first name so you are responsible for his debts..Good grief ..Not to smart..

[aliengoods]

While getting phone calls from a debt collector because you have someone's old phone number may be annoying, I have one that I feel tops it. In Minneapolis, when they added a couple new area codes about 10 years ago, I got the old number for Papa Johns Pizza. This is when I was in college. And let me tell you, there wasn't a Friday or Saturday night that I didn't get calls at 2am or later. On occaision, when I was up late with friends, I would take their orders, telling them their pizzas would be there in an hour, and congratulating them on winning "our" (aka, Papa John's) 100,000th order contest which entitled them to free pizzas and soda (sometimes money or live animals, I got creative). They would be ecstatic, and about 2 hours later, call back to see where their pizza was. At this point I would tell them that someone claiming to be them had picked up their food and prizes, and if they had a complaint, to come and see the manager the next day.

I feel sorry for whomever that was. In retrospect, I caused them a lot of grief.

[desultory]

Oh how funny! Cruel, but funny.

[sisterdebmac]

Slightly OT, but last year I filed personal BK and while looking at my credit reports online, I noticed three items on there that were NOT mine. I asked to have them removed and eventually they were.

But it reminded me that there is someone who lives in the same town as me with the same slightly unusual name as me. The spookiest thing about my nominal doppelganger is that one time we both leased the same make & model car from the same dealer in the same month of the same year. I found this out when I went to turn the car in at the end of the lease and the dealer pulled the file for the other girl. We were stunned by this coincidence.

Around that same time, I started getting phone calls from people looking for her. Once in the middle of the night (yes, a booty call), and oddly once from her dad, who talked to me for a few minutes as if I was her and then asked when Josh was going to get married. When I asked, "Who's Josh?", he exclaimed, "Your son!" I then had to explain to him that I was not his daughter and was nowhere near old enough to have a son that was marrying age.

It's amazing to me that in this wired world, people still get so mixed up.

[Gwen R]

That's hilarious. I had completely forgotten that a similar thing happened to me. When I bought my first house years ago, I got numerous calls for a woman who had my exact maiden name as her married name. This woman had left her husband unexpectedly, not telling anyone where she was going. I got panicked phone calls from family members initially, then the collection calls began. Each time I explained the misunderstanding and everyone (even the debt collectors) understood and stopped calling. I felt sorry for the girl - after so many phone calls (and so many little details slipping through) I started to feel a little protective like she was a distant relative or something.

[chensamabindicka]

"Fully insured" but after a $600-thousand motorcyle accident/medical injury bill, the letters started coming asking for $2,000 here, $$3,000 there. Phone calls too. This is while I'm still a flayed open piece of limping meat, dazed and dulled on anti-depressants...you get the picture.

They attack while you're at your weakest. Great system we have huh?

Answer all the letters and tell them 1)you dispute the claim 2) you will go to court should they subpoeana you and 3) you will demand a jury trial. Tell them you think they bought a bad debt and that you have already paid it.. Then cut off contact and let them stew. It's a cost-benefits decision with them. Carrying through on their threats will cost them money. They rely on fear and intimidation for a quick capitulation. So intimidate back. If you show them your case will be expensive and time consuming , most often they will try to to sell the alledged debt to another collection agency rather, than mess with a jlury trial. In these tough times, what collection agency wants to go to a jury trial where a bunch of pissed off consumers are more than happy to decide their fate?

SINGLE PAYER MEDICAL COVERAGE NOW.

[squander123]

Wow. These stories are terrifying. I'd always wondered why I heard so much concern about 'my credit' in American TV and movies, and now I realise why! You guys must have a really different system from any of the European ones I've encountered. I've never been contacted by a debt collector, and neither has anyone else I know. I don't get phone calls for anyone else, whether demanding money or not, and get only about 2 marketing phone calls per year on my landline (and none on my cell phone). And when I've gone through the credit-rating process (just once, to get a mortgage) it took about a day and was completely without incident, and again was the same for everyone else I know.

So how come debt collecting is such big business in the US? It must be something legislative, or it would be the same over here, I'm assuming. Time to start lobbying for some law changes, I think...

[dey21]

I'm assuming you are in the UK, as am I, although I am American.

The UK debt collecting process seems mostly to be paper based...hilariously hilariously paper based. Just like in the US, companies who hold the debt seem to hire collection agencies to harass debtors on paper. This paper harassment escalates to threats of "sending someone round," I suppose to yell at you from the front door since they could serve you with legal papers by mail.

This mostly comes from a careful study of the mountain of post for previous tenants that has arrived at this flat. About 10 different people owe varying amounts. Most were international students who clearly skipped out on their last payments before leaving the country. I spent some time "returning to sender, no longer at this address" but that doesn't stop the letters from coming, nor does it stop the process from escalating to a collection agency.

I hope someone does come round to the door one day. That would be funny.

I think that you must not live in a flat that was ever occupied by debtors. The situation is the UK is different but totally compairable.

[dey21]

Also on the previous note re: the UK.

As a non-citizen I was told that i could not enter into a mobile phone contract until I had lived in the UK for 3 years because I would not have any credit rating at all until after that time. That sounded insane (especially because my US credit rating is sparkly and good and I just wanted to pay the company money every month). Reality: no mobile company let me have a contract until I had been here 3 years!

My partner, however, is a citizen, albeit one who was born in another country. He was told he could not have a mobile phone contract because a check of his ADDRESS turned up unpaid debt...unpaid debt from a previous tenant whom he never met...debt incurred while he still lived in another hemisphere. Thus he is pay-as-you-go for seven years...

The UK is def. strange with regards to debt.

[squander123]

Well I am a British citizen, but haven't lived there for years and years, so it wasn't really the British system I was thinking of. I do vaguely recall something about banks there checking the credit history of your address as part of getting a credit card, but it was so long ago that I'm hazy on the details.

As for the paper-based issue of debt collection, that I think would be the same in many European countries, and I think must be tied to the (fairly) strict laws about phone usage. Most of my American friends complain about endless cold-calling (and I guess debt collection counts as cold calling!), which doesn't seem to happen here to anything like the same degree: and the only explanation I can think of for that is legal differences.

In any country, there MUST be a better way of organising this business than to have people harrassed for debts owed by someone with a vaguely similar name. I mean, in 2009?!

[MNinWI]

Capitalism, my friend. However the Republicans have taken it to it's most disastrous heights. It's totally out of control here. Our new Prez right now is going along with it, I am sorry to say. So the rich benefit & the rest of society pays the deep price for it. Health care is the biggest problem right now & our system is insane & people who are making the decision on this issue keep talking about 'tradition' which makes me so angry I could scream. We are even talking of moving out of the country because of that & other issues have gotten out of control & almost no one is seriously presenting solutions (Bernie Sanders is one of the exceptions). Americans are not the brightest people it seems.

[chensamabindicka]

US model in broad strokes: Say you owe $2,000 on an installment plan to a local merchant and default. The merchant then decides to cut his losses by selling the RIGHT TO COLLECT on your debt to a collection agency for $500. So the collection agency, often after a only minimal amount of carefully crafted communication can make up to $1500 on the deal. Or they can sell rights to collect the debt to another collection agency for more or less than they paid the original holder of your debt.
The robo-calls serve the same function as computer generated letters. They are a low effort & cost effective means of digital intimidation, which the collection agency has paid for the right to inflict upon you. Statistical probabilities that debtors will cave in means collection "agencies" are profitable enterprises. In the US the word "agency" connotes an official or law enforcement status, which of course these businesses are not. Their ultimate leverage comes from their ability to damage your credit score, which is another drawback of interlocking data bases. These quite efficiently get names and identities wrong, but are complicated and time consuming to correct. A sure sign of a collection agency that is operating on a shoestring is if they are sending out intimidations via an old and out of date data base.

[chensamabindicka]

US model in broad strokes: Say you owe $2,000 on an installment plan to a local merchant and default. The merchant then decides to cut his losses by selling the RIGHT TO COLLECT on your debt to a collection agency for $500. So the collection agency, often after a only minimal amount of carefully crafted communication can make up to $1500 on the deal. Or they can sell rights to collect the debt to another collection agency for more or less than they paid the original holder of your debt.

The robo-calls serve the same function as computer generated letters. They are a low effort & cost effective means of digital intimidation, which the collection agency has paid for the right to inflict upon you. Statistical probabilities that debtors will cave in means collection "agencies" are profitable enterprises. In the US the word "agency" connotes an official or law enforcement status, which of course these businesses are not. Their ultimate leverage comes from their ability to damage your credit score, which is another drawback of interlocking data bases. These quite efficiently get names and identities wrong, but are complicated and time consuming to correct. A sure sign of a collection agency that is operating on a shoestring is if they are sending out intimidations via an old and out of date data base.

[Milash]

At my last residence, the phone number I was given was that of someone who was in arrears with a few debt collection agencies. I got many phone calls, both real and automated from collection agencies. When given the chance to transfer my old number to my new place, I firmly said NO!