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Debt Collectors Sneaking Robocall Exemptions Into Budget Bill
TCPALaw writes: Hate robocalls? In July, the FCC tightened the rules regarding robocalls to cell phones, especially debt collection calls (in particular limiting calls to wrong numbers or to anyone who is not the debtor). Now the debt collection industry is getting their revenge by sneaking in a massive exemption (see section 301 on page 10 to the PDF) to the the FCC's rules that would expressly permit debt collection robocalls to cell phones (and even collect calls!) for student loans, mortgages, taxes, and any other debt owed or guaranteed by the government. Time to make a few phone calls myself to some senators. The Senate switchboard is (202) 224-3121 or go to senate.gov to find the number for your senators. This may come up for a vote in 24 hours or less.
Just don't answer your phone for any number that you don't recognize; if it's really important they'll leave a voicemail message. Debt collectors and scumbags don't leave messages, typically; there, problem solved.
Are YOU using the TOOL, or is the TOOL using YOU? Think about it!
Of course...
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BMO
This isn't about debt collector calls as a whole, but robocalls. Robocalls are terrible. Debt collector calls might be annoying, but that's the cost of not paying on time.
People running away from their debt, this is why the country goes to shit.
No. I don't think that's a leading factor. Debt collectors not following the rules, that's not a reason for the country "going to shit either", but it doesn't help.
Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
If you truly understood how debt collection really works, you might not be so passé about it.
Python: 'And then suddenly you have a language which says "we're all stuck with whatever the whiniest coder wants".'
After I was out of work for two years (2009-2010), and preparing to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2011, a debt collector got nasty by ignoring my letter not to call and kept calling me. So I decided to play hardball. I kept hitting redial to tie up his phone line until he agreed to talk to me. After ten hang ups in five minutes, he finally gave in and stopped calling me.
Very simple solution — get the government out of the loans-business altogether. Why it got there in the first place is, sort of, a mystery...
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
I've gotten a lot of debt collection calls, at work and at home. Thing is, they've never been for me. I have never defaulted on any debt in my life. Yet these people would call and call trying to get a hold of someone else. Telling them "That's not me, you have the wrong number," didn't work.
So what is the solution?
They learn from the one percenters and business owners.
Build up lots of debt, declare bankruptcy after stripping everything of value, then keep going like nothing happened.
Business bankruptcy is different than personal bankruptcy. You may have heard that Donald Trump filed bankruptcy four times. Those were business bankruptcies. He was on the hook for the first bankruptcy only because he personally guaranteed something. After that, he never personally guarantee anything again.
I think Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey have already got the memo, seeing as they were the ones that originally sent it.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Evidently you never had someone make a purchase in your name without you knowing and then ignoring you when you tell them you didn't make it or in my case.....
Someone purchase something online and just happen to give them a random phone number that ends up being yours so you end up telling them 50 times that the person they are looking for doesn't live there, you never met them before, you don't know them and you didn't purchase anything.
Then they just randomly call looking for people that aren't you.
And don't accept your word that you aren't them, don't know them, and have no responsibilities for their bad debts.
And keep calling back.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
For Instance:
- Be in the Military
- Get injured on the job, maybe fall and break four ribs in your back, just supposing here
- Go to a civilian hospital that has agreed to accept the military payment as payment in full, any hospital that accepts Medicare has to
- Go about your life getting stationed overseas
- Return to the States after 5 years and try to buy and house and discover the that Hospital fucked up and marked the bill as unpaid, turned it over to a bill collector and not only can you not get approved to buy the house the damn bill collector starts harassing you and your wife with phone calls day and night.
- Hospital finally admits bill was in error but sorry they sold it to the bill collector so not their problem and the damn bill collector ain't gonna stop calling
Now tell me how paying my bills kept the calls away???
If only that was what actually happens. I keep getting robo calls from debt collectors for a student loan that predates my birth. Even after explaining that they have the wrong person they still call for about 2 months and then sell it to someone else who keeps calling.
Time to offend someone
Damn, I wish every bank and credit card company did this. Heck, I think there should be a law requiring them to do this.
I knew I had put a $10 charge on my BofA credit card (my lone annual charge to prevent them from closing the card). I waited for the bill to arrive, and waited, and waited, and nothing. So I called the number on the card to speak to a rep, verified there was $10 due, and mailed them a payment check. I figured the matter was over with, and wasn't concerned when I didn't get a bill since they don't normally send a statement for a zero balance.
Three months later I applied for a mortgage... and was turned down due to a past due account. It turns out the $10 payment I sent arrived the day after the due date, and they'd immediately tacked on a $35 late fee. Whatever problem caused my first bill to never arrive caused the subsequent bills to not arrive, so I never knew about this late fee or the overdue account. During this time, BofA never called me to try to figure out what was going on or to try to resolve the issue. They just dinged my credit without so much as a courtesy call (it's still the only black mark on my credit report, and will be for another year).
A similar thing happened to my parents. There was a 5 cent discrepancy when they closed a BofA card caused by someone at BofA cashing their payment check for $xx.90 when it was written as $xx.95. It was only 5 cents so my mom sent a 5 cent check to take care of it. Unbeknownst to her, BofA had tacked on interest so the 5 cents didn't settle the matter. And because there was an amount due they hadn't closed the account so it was building up late fees. But apparently their billing department thought the account was closed because my parents never got any subsequent statements for the account. BofA never called them about it to try to get it resolved, they just silently dinged their credit. No amount of complaining or arguing with BofA got them to remove the negative from their credit reports despite it being completely BofA's fault. We've since ceased all business with BofA.
Get a VOIP service that supports NoMoRobo. I pay $169 for two years unlimited service. I turned on NoMoRobo and it blocks telemarketers, debt collectors, surveys and political calls. I LOVE it! The phone rings about half a ring and then when callerID hits, they pick up and announce that my line is protected by NoMoRobo and they cannot reach my number. I don't even bother to move unless my phone starts to ring a second time.
It is a rare occasion when I get a nuisance call these days,
Once I invent a device that allows you to kill people via the phone.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Screw debt collectors.
Does that work?
Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways