Eric Stephenson

Do It Yourself Credit Repair

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The FTC recommends do it yourself credit repair for many reasons. In some ways we agree but, in most cases, hiring a credit repair attorney may be a better solution.

Time and Cost of Do It Yourself Credit Repair

Consumers who engage in do it yourself credit repair may save a little money over consumers who hire credit repair attorneys or credit repair organizations but those savings are minimal at best. Learning the credit repair process takes a significant amount of time and effort, and time is money after all. The danger of do it yourself credit repair becomes apparent here as consumers can spend many hours learning to repair their credit on their own and will find a lot of misinformation about the process as they search. The best method is to consult an experienced credit repair attorney for proper advice. Many will consult for free and can be surprisingly affordable.

Effectiveness of Do It Yourself Credit Repair

Do it yourself credit repair can be somewhat effective but is generally less effective as hiring a credit repair attorney. Credit repair attorneys can cut through the garbage that consumers and less knowledgeable credit repair organizations can’t. For example, the credit bureaus stall and ignore consumers more often when dispute letters come from credit repair organizations. Yes, the credit bureaus can often determine who the letters came from. They take note of the postmark, signature, font, format of the letter, and other details that earmark the letter as originating from a credit repair organization rather than directly from the consumer or his lawyer. Dispute letters from credit repair organizations are frequently sidelined to be ignored or stalled and many do it yourself consumer letters are also stalled or ignored in many cases. In some cases the credit bureaus will request more information from the consumer in an attempt to delay the process and thwart the efforts of the credit repair organization. When properly drafted, attorney credit disputes get handled far more seriously.

Credit repair attorneys are also better at protecting consumers rights than consumers and credit repair organizations. Indeed, credit repair organizations are outright abysmal at protecting consumer rights. One glaring example is when credit repair organizations send letters admitting the consumer owes the debt or missed payments on the debt as a dispute tactic. This commonly used “goodwill” request is patently bad advice. A competent attorney would never advise consumers to admit or acknowledge the debt since doing so may reset the statute of limitations on which the creditor may collect the debt. Acknowledging the debt also constitutes an admission that can, and certainly will, be used against the consumer later if litigation ever ensues. Admitting the debt is a decidedly bad idea.

Conclusion

Do it yourself credit repair can be a good choice for some consumers, but for most, hiring an experienced credit repair attorney is almost always better. The costs of hiring a lawyer can be surprisingly affordable and the results are far more effective. The task of learning do it yourself credit repair may be too daunting for many consumers. If true for you, consult a credit repair attorney for advice and guidance. You may be surprised and how little it costs to get competent assistance from an experienced attorney.

Consumer Daily Scam Reviews

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The Internet has several websites under the Consumer Daily banner that each purport to provide consumers with real strategies and tips to save money. Are these websites consumer-friendly? Are these websites helpful? The answer to both questions is an unequivocal and resounding NO. The Consumer Daily review websites purporting to be news or unbiased review sites are scams. No question about it.

What is the Consumer Daily Scam

The Consumer Daily scam is a series of websites designed to look like legitimate news stories or reviews about specific services and products. Instead of providing fair and honest consumer reviews however, these Consumer Daily scam review sites provide sales pitches pretending to be unbiased news articles and consumer reviews. Indeed, these Consumer Daily scam review sites are actually selling the products and services it is pretending to review. To me such dishonesty is a scam.

Consumers click on these website ads looking for tips on saving money but are instead sent to fake reviews with links to purchase various products and services. Consumers are not provided real, unbiased, or uncompensated reviews. In return for the sales pitch, the Consumer Daily scam websites receive a commission for deceiving the consumers into believing they are getting a special deal or inside trick into saving money. Consumer Daily is basically an affiliate of each of the companies it pretends to review. The scam is nothing more than paid affiliate advertising veiled as news or reviews and it is dishonest to say the least.

How to recognize a Consumer Daily Scam Review

Consumer Daily scam reviews are actually quite easy to spot. Any website banner advertisement that talks about a “trick,” “loophole,” or “secret” for saving money on something is your first clue. Some Consumer Daily scam ads talk about how insurance companies hate a certain trick or how some local housewife in your area made more money in one month working part time from home than you earn in a year. It’s all a lie. There is no special trick and there is no worthwhile work-at-home opportunity at the end of that rainbow. Click on the ad and instead you will see nothing more than a page full of paid links to buy products and services that give a commission to the Consumer Daily companies. They are literally fishing for suckers.

No legitimate review website will ever accept payment in exchange for a review. Ever. That is the whole point of legitimate reviews. They are supposed to be unbiased, unsolicited, and uncompensated. If you ever read a review and it provides you with a paid link to purchase that product or service you shouldn’t be surprised when that review is favorable to the company. It is all a scam. Making such advertising appear to be news or unbiased discussion is what separates legitimate advertising from a Consumer Daily scam.

How to Avoid a Consumer Daily Scam Review

Avoiding a Consumer Daily scam is actually quite easy. Don’t click on a banner advertisement that appears to be a review or news article. If you do, pay close attention to the message to see if it is highly favorable to the company being discussed. Then look for the paid link or telephone number to buy the product or service. That paid link or phone number is your best clue that you are being scammed.

Another good clue is what product or service is being sold. Typically, the Consumer Daily scam review sites sell the same services you normally see saturating Internet affiliate advertising. These services include car insurance, mortgage loans, debt consolidation plans, penny auction gambling scams, credit repair, and fitness plans to name a few. Yes, there are legitimate companies out there but the ones who have to force-feed you their advertising every time you open a web browser are best avoided. Use some common sense here. If a company calls a product or service a miracle or makes wild claims that seem unbelievable and then provides you a paid link to buy the product or service it just pretended to review, run away. The old adage stands firm. If something seems to good to be true it probably is too good to be true.

Conclusion

Legitimate companies never make wild claims. If a company brags about its miracle product that helps you lose 75 pounds overnight, makes you $6000 a month by working from home, and saves you $300 a year in car insurance all at the same time is lying. Legitimate advertising doesn’t make unsubstantiated claims and doesn’t pretend to be anything other than advertising. In contrast, the Consumer Daily scam review websites are not legitimate. No matter how you cut it, pretending to provide consumers a product review that you are paid to provide is a scam. Run away and don’t be a victim.

Note

Please note that this article discusses material found only on the following websites and no other: consumerdaily.org, consumerdaily.com, and consumerdailyalerts.com. We make no representations herein about any other website, company, service, or product that use the term consumer daily though there are probably at least several other websites and companies also participating in the consumer daily scam.

Fight Telephone Scams and Stop the Calls

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The local news recently reported that a new telephone scam is running in Utah. The telephone scam is not actually new at all but does raise the point that consumers need to be aware of these telephone scams and how to fight back.

Here are a few tips to avoid becoming a victim of a telephone rip off.

Telephone Scam Tip 1: Recognizing a Telephone Scam

You must first learn to recognize a telephone scam. This is actually the easy part. Anyone calling you and asking for your personal, private, or financial information is a scam. Legitimate companies NEVER call to ask for your social security number, date of birth, bank account number, or other similar information. NEVER. If anyone calls for that information they are attempting to scam you.

Telephone Scam Tip 2: Hang Up

Once you recognize a telephone scam, hang up. Don’t give any information and don’t push any buttons on the phone if it is a recording calling you. Just hang up. If you have a call block feature on your telephone you can then block that number from ever bothering you again but even if you don’t, simply hanging up prevents the caller from getting any private information from you.

Telephone Scam Tip 3: Record the Call

If legal in your state and the state of the caller you should record the call. In Utah, it is legal to record telephone calls as long as one party consents to the recording. Recording the telephone rip off call is an excellent way to prove your case if litigation ever becomes necessary.

Telephone Scam Tip 4: Ask Questions

If you really want to tick off a telephone con artist, ask him questions. They hate inquisitive consumers. Indeed, they hate smart consumers so much that asking questions will almost always result in the con artist hanging up on you. In fact, I once had a telephone scam artist so irritated by my questions that he threatened to kill me. That is another excellent reason to record the calls.

If you ask questions you are unlikely to get any actual answers from the con artist but some will give you useful telephone numbers, names, or even addresses. It is rare to get information from a con artist however. Most will simply get mad that you aren’t falling for the scam and hang up on you.

Telephone Scam Tip 5: Don’t Waste Your Time

Don’t waste your time filing a complaint with the FBI. Let me be clear on this point. The FBI is supposed to investigate and prosecute people for committing telephone scams but they will not do it. At least not in Utah. I know because when I tried to report the con artist who threatened to kill me, the FBI outright refused to take a report. To say the FBI agent I spoke with was corrupt and incompetent would be kind. The lesson here is don’t waste your time dealing with the morons at the FBI to stop the morons perpetrating telephone scams. It won’t happen. The FBI is just too ignorant and corrupt to help you.

Telephone Scam Conclusion

The best way to fight back against a telephone con artist is to be able to recognize when a caller is a scam. The next step is to ask questions or hang up. Don’t waste any time with the idiots at the FBI, just hang up and keep your personal information private.

Stop Debt Collector Calls at Work

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Are you getting debt collector calls at work? You might be surprised how easy it is to stop debt collector calls at work.

Why You Get Debt Collector Calls at Work

It is a common practice among debt collectors and collection attorneys to call consumers at work to collect debt. The reason they do so is because calling a consumer at work is a very effective collection tool. Consumers feel threatened and pressured by debt collector calls at work. The calls at work cause a fear of losing their job or suffering the embarrassment and humiliation of having their personal financial information being exposed to coworkers and supervisors. Debt collectors are keenly aware that putting this kind of pressure on consumers forces a lot of consumers to pay, whether just or not.

Stop Debt Collector Calls at Work

Although it is generally legal for a debt collector or collection attorney to call you at work there are ways you can stop the calls. The first way is to simply tell the debt collector your employer doesn’t allow collection calls at work. Do so only if it is true however. If you are close to your employer or supervisor you could have them tell the debt collector that debt collector calls at work are not allowed. Either way the debt collection agency is on notice to cease any further calls to you at work. If the collector continues calling you at work after it knows your employer doesn’t allow collection calls at work it is violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

The more drastic way to stop debt collector calls at work is to send the collector a letter notifying it to cease all further communication with you. This is drastic because a cease communications letter stops the collector from contacting you by any means at any place. The debt collector calls at work have to stop but so do the collection calls to your home and cell phone. The collection agency is even required to stop sending you letters to collect the debt.

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act the collector must stop most additional contact with you after it receives a cease communications letter. The only contact the debt collector can have with a consumer after it receives a cease communications letter is to notify the consumer that its collection efforts are being terminated or that it may invoke a specified remedy against the consumer. The cease communications letter may also prompt the debt collector or collection attorney to sue you so please contact a consumer protection attorney before taking this drastic step.

Stop Debt Collector Calls to Your Employer

Sometimes debt collectors and collection attorneys contact your employer rather than you. Calls to your employer or coworkers can be even more stressful, embarrassing, and humiliating than typical collection calls. Fortunately, under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act debt collectors and collection attorneys can only call a third party to acquire or confirm location information and they can only do so once. That means that if the debt collector calls your employer or coworker it cannot do it again. If it does it is breaking the FDCPA and you can sue the debt collector. And you don’t have to send a cease communication letter for this prohibition to apply. The FDCPA prohibits a second communication to your employer or coworker without any further action on your part.

Sue Debt Collectors

If the debt collector or collection attorney continues calling you at work after you tell it your employer doesn’t allow collection calls or after you send a cease communication letter your best way to stop the collection calls at work is to sue. If the debt collector calls your employer or coworker more than once an unfair debt collection lawsuit is also an excellent way to stop the abuse. If you are reluctant to sue that’s okay. Just keep in mind that the collection attorney is not reluctant to sue you nor are they reluctant to abuse, harass, or humiliate you.

Conclusion

Fortunately stopping collection calls to your employer or coworkers is usually easy. First, tell the debt collector to stop calling you at work and that your employer does not allow collection calls. If the collector calls after that notification they are violating the FDCPA. If the debt collector calls your employer or coworkers more than once or even just once to do anything other than acquire or verify location information they are also violating the FDCPA. If either violation occurs, filing a debt collection lawsuit to stop the debt collector calls at work is probably your best option.

If you have questions about these and other possible Fair Debt Collection Practices Act violations please feel free to contact us for assistance.

Stop Robocalls the Easy Way

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If you want to stop robocalls the easy way, don’t hang up as advised by the FTC. The best way to stop robocalls is to follow these easy steps and make the robocaller pay you up to $1500.00 per illegal call.

Get on the Do-Not-Call Registry

First, get your number on the do-not-call registry. No, it won’t stop all robocalls but it will stop most. Inclusion on the do not call list also has the added benefit of making it illegal to call you. That is important for your future efforts to stop the calls.

Tell the Caller to Stop Calling

Most robocalls are, by definition, made by an automated system so you are unlikely to get a person on the phone. If you do get a live person tell them to stop calling you. If the robocalls are coming to your cell phone tell the caller that you do not give permission to call your cell phone and to stop calling it. Telling the robocaller to stop calling you is an important step in getting the calls to stop so keep good notes for later use.

Also, never push any buttons during a robocall. Pushing any buttons at all will trigger more robocalls because it tells the telemarketer that a live person will answer the phone at that number. It is very important that you don’t push any buttons.

Record the Robocalls

If it is legal in your state you should record the robocalls. Obviously, this means that hanging up as the FTC recommends is a very bad idea. The reason you should record the calls instead of hanging up is because you want evidence against the robocaller. An audio recording is important proof that the call occurred and was actually a robocall. If you hang up you don’t get this important proof.

Take Notes of Each Robocall

Take good written notes. Note every robocall by date, time, caller ID information, company name, and the names of anyone you eventually speak with. These notes are critical to your future efforts to stop the robocalls. Feel free to use my Collection Communications Log to keep track of the unwanted robocalls.

Photograph the Caller ID

After the call ends take a picture of the caller ID. This too is important proof that the call occurred. For smart phones you can find a screen capture app if you prefer a screenshot rather than a photograph. The screenshot or picture can also serve as proof that the caller spoofed, or in other words, altered the caller ID information. Falsifying the caller ID is just as unlawful as making the call in the first place.

Obtain Phone Records

When you get your monthly phone bill preserve the records. This is evidence of the calls as it shows the date, time, and number from which the caller dialed. You need this proof to properly stop robocalls.

Call a Consumer Rights Attorney

Perhaps the most important step to stop robocalls is to call a consumer protection attorney. He can advise you on the appropriate steps to take to preserve your rights and to preserve the evidence you need to prove your case. And yes, in many cases you will need to sue to properly stop robocalls. Anything less is insufficient to stop the more unscrupulous telemarketing companies. The good news is that suing a telemarketer can result in an award of as much as $1500.00 for each illegal call.

Conclusion

Take the steps above if you want to stop robocalls. Prepare and preserve your evidence and get a lawyer. If you simply hang up as the FTC suggests you have done nothing to stop robocalls. Suing, on the other hand, will stop at least one robocaller from ever bothering you again and in many cases can actually stop others as well.

Suing a Debt Collector for $7500

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When is suing a debt collector for $7500 a bad idea? When you have substantially higher damages of course. Unfortunately, the Consumerist website has posted an article congratulating a consumer for suing a debt collector in small claims court and winning $7500. Keep reading to find out why that $7500 award for suing a debt collector is actually a bad result.

Actual Damages are Available Under the FDCPA

The consumer in this article had actual damages. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) awards for actual damages are not capped. By suing a debt collector in small claims court she put an artificial limit on her damages of $7500 which was extremely unreasonable under the circumstances. Indeed, the abusive nature of the unfair debt collections suffered by the consumer in the article would have easily exceeded $7500 if she would have filed her case in federal court. By suing a debt collector in small claims court this consumer basically allowed the debt collector to keep a lot of money to which the consumer should have been entitled.

Attorneys Fees Under the FDCPA are Mandatory

Also of concern for this consumer is that under the FDCPA attorneys fees are mandatory if your prove an FDCPA violation occurred. If the consumer in the article had taken her case to federal court the debt collector would have paid her attorneys’ fees. Those fees would have easily exceeded $7500. Essentially, the debt collector would have been forced to pay for the consumer’s attorney; something they did not have to do in small claims court. That factor alone should tip the scales in favor of federal court over small claims court.

Discovery Limits

Another limitation of small claims court is that small claims courts do not allow discovery. Discovery is the process of obtaining information from the other side that helps prove your case. In most, if not all FDCPA cases you will want to conduct discovery. Debt collectors always have telephone records, call recordings, call notes, and other internal documents that support your claims of abusive debt collection conduct. In federal court you can get these documents whereas in small claims courts you can’t.

Appeals

Small claims courts also have a very simple appeals process. That is great news if you lose but terrible if you win. Because debt collectors have a right to appeal they will often use the threat of appealing your victory to negotiate a smaller damage award. You can always refuse but then you have to conduct the trial a second time and risk losing your case. In contrast, suing a debt collector in federal court is highly unlikely to ever be appealed.

Conclusion

There are numerous reasons why a $7500 judgment for the FDCPA case in the article is too low. The consumer should be congratulated for suing a debt collector and holding it accountable for its Fair Debt Collection Practices Act violations but the consumer could have, and should have, received more.

Seven Peaks Pass of All Passes Complaints

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I just read an article about the famous Seven Peaks Pass of all Passes. Apparently consumers are filing complaints about not receiving these passes in a timely manner. Consumers are even contacting Get Gephardt to try to get help. Fortunately, there is no need to contact Get Gephardt or even me in this case. Seven Peaks is responding to these complaints favorably and taking care of its customers as it should. No real drama needed.

Seven Peaks Pass of all Passes

What is the Seven Peaks Pass of all Passes you ask? Well, simply put it is an awesome pass you get that gets you into the various Seven Peaks Water Parks in the Salt Lake and Provo areas very cheaply. My wife got them so she and the kids could play all summer and they are indeed awesome passes for summer fun in Utah.

Pass of All Passes Complaints

The Pass of all Passes complaints consumer have are not about the passes themselves at all. The complaints about the passes is that the passes are not getting delivered in a timely manner. The complaints seem to stem more from early purchasers than those who bought the passes recently however. My wife for example, bought our passes sometime in April and received them just three or four weeks later. As far as I can tell complaints about these passes seem to be already resolved by the time you read this. Summer fun here we come.

Obtaining Your Seven Peaks Pass of all Passes

Since Seven Peaks now seems to be delivering the passes pretty quickly now I wouldn’t worry too much about it if you haven’t received yours yet. It will probably come soon. If not, don’t worry. Just go to a Seven Peaks water park and have them process the passes there. They have agreed to let pass holders who have not yet received the passes come in anyway as long as you have your receipt proving you ordered the Seven Peaks Pass of all Passes.

Conclusion

Seven Peaks has very nicely handled the Seven Peaks Pass of all Passes problem. Take your receipt in and have a good time. Frankly, if all companies handled complaints and glitches as well as Seven Peaks has handled this problem I would be out of a job. No, there is no need to call me if you haven’t received your passes yet. And certainly don’t Get Gephardt. Just let Seven Peaks sort it out for you. The summer heat is here. Get your Seven Peaks Pass of all Passes and go play.

Top Consumer Complaints in Utah

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What are the top consumer complaints I get each year? The answer may surprise you — or maybe it won’t. The top consumer complaints I receive are as follows:

Unfair Debt Collection

Abusive debt collections are easily the number one consumer complaint I get each year. Indeed, as the economy worsens abusive debt collections increase in both frequency and intensity. You don’t have to be a victim however. A good consumer protection attorney can stop debt collectors from abusing you and can even make them pay you and your attorney’s fees. This is one area where consumers should not hesitate to call an attorney for help.

Harassing Telemarketing Calls

Every year more consumers are getting harassed by annoying calls from telemarketers. Whether it is robo-calls to cell phones or calls to telephone numbers listed in the do-not-call registry a good consumer rights attorney can stop the calls and make the caller pay you for the harassment. The possible awards to consumers for unlawful telemarketing practices can be substantial so keep good records of the calls and call a consumer rights attorney immediately if you are a victim.

Car Purchase Disputes

Consumers make numerous mistakes when purchasing a car. These mistakes cost them thousands of dollars and force many consumers to own a car they hate. Some of these disputes are over the price of the car while other complaints arise about deceptive representations made by the salesmen. Perhaps the biggest complaint I hear from consumers is that the car they bought was defective in some way. Simply having a competent mechanic thoroughly examine the car before you buy it is the best way to assure you won’t buy a lemon.

False Credit Reporting

The credit bureaus often report information inaccurately. This ranks high among the top consumer complaints I receive each year. Most consumers don’t know how to properly correct false reporting and the Internet is full of incorrect information on the issue. Although consumers can dispute credit report inaccuracies on their own it is often easier and more effective to hire a consumer rights attorney to help you. The simple fact is that a good attorney can often get results consumers cannot get on the own.

Identity Theft

I am never surprised by the amount of consumer complaints I receive from consumers that are victims of identity theft. There are large numbers of victims every year. I am often surprised by how many don’t take proper action to restore their identity or to lock down their credit to prevent future identity theft. Most have no idea how to restore their identity and don’t even consider calling an attorney. Bad move. A consumer rights attorney can help restore your identity in as little as a week or less. Call me if that sounds too good to be true and I will prove it.

Cell Phone Contracts

Cell phone companies are relentless in trying to keep consumers locked into bad and lengthy contracts. Most of those contracts are valid and enforceable but a lot of consumers complain that they were lied to in the formation of the contract or received a phone that failed to work as intended. In many of these cases consumers can get out of cell phone contracts without paying the oppressively high cancellation fees so common in the industry.

Conclusion

That’s it for my list of the most common consumer complaints I get each year. There are certainly others but these are the most common. In each of these cases consumers can represent themselves but will usually get better results by hiring a consumer protection attorney. In any event, don’t be a victim of any of these consumer complaints.

Consumer Law Protection is Always Available

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One frustration I have with being a consumer protection attorney is that many consumers don’t get help from me when they could do so easily. No, my frustration doesn’t come because of money; it out of wanting to help people get justice but being unable to for one reason or another.

Many consumers don’t let me help because they think they can’t afford me. That is absolutely false. Indeed, I serve most of my clients on a pro bono basis; or in other words, for free. Anyone can afford a free attorney.

Another reason people don’t call is because they don’t think it is possible to get the help they need. In many cases that is simply not true. For example, one of my clients wanted out of a cell phone contract she was sold deceptively and she tried on her own for weeks on her own to no avail. The cell phone company was stubborn and would not budge. Once she hired me I was able to immediately get her out of the contract without having to pay the $600.00 penalty the cell phone company originally threatened to charge and without any negative information reporting in her credit reports. I charged her nothing.

Some consumers don’t ask me for help is because many don’t want to sue. This is unfortunate because in most cases we don’t have to sue the wrongdoer to get the consumer a refund or other compensation. In other cases I can understand the hesitation and desire to avoid a lawsuit. It can be stressful to sue someone and some people even consider it wrong to ask the courts to award them money. One way to view the situation is to consider that other than an award of money, there is no other way for a consumer to hold a company accountable for its abuse. As for stress, my clients quickly learn that any stress caused by litigation is far less than the stress of being abused or harassed by an unethical company.

Another reason people who are scammed don’t seek my help is that they think they don’t have time to deal with the problem. In some cases that is true but I do everything I can to make legal representation easy for my clients. I can receive documents by email or fax and can talk to my clients by telephone to simplify the process. In one case I had years ago I represented a consumer who lived in North Carolina. I handled his case by email, fax, and telephone for over two years before ever meeting him in person when I flew him out to Utah for his deposition. The case went very smoothly and ended well. The distance was not a problem for either of us.

Consumers also often try to handle consumer protection issues on their own without an attorney. While commendable it is often not the best way to get adequate relief. Experienced consumer protection attorneys understand the laws, regulations, and court decisions that govern your case. That knowledge can get consumers higher rewards than consumers acting on their own. For these consumers, I created several blog posts to educate them in handling their own case. As I said I want to help people, whether they pay me or not.

In the end most consumers don’t hire an attorney when they often should. Even a quick consultation can help guide you to the best path for the fastest and most efficient resolution. The inescapable fact in that you are more likely to get a refund or other compensation if you have proper legal representation. Don’t assume you can’t afford to hire an attorney. Call one. There are numerous options available to help you get a refund or other compensation.

Stop Debt Collectors From Calling

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Many consumers ask me how they can stop debt collectors from calling. My answer to that question is usually to not do anything to stop debt collectors from calling — yet. Before you act on the problem you should first consider the solutions and ramifications of taking certain actions.

Consult a Consumer Protection Attorney

If the debt collector is abusive, harassing, or treating you in an undignified manner your first step should be to discuss the matter with an experienced consumer protection attorney. He can evaluate your case, advise you how to handle the debt collector, and can help you sue if the facts of your case merit doing so. A good consumer rights lawyer can not only stop debt collectors from calling but can even make an abusive debt collector pay you money. On the other hand, failing to contact an attorney can result in waiving your legal rights or limiting your legal claims. Acting too quickly without the proper guidance can also provide the debt collector an opportunity to destroy evidence of the unlawful actions it has taken against you. Your best course of action to stop debt collectors from calling you is to contact a consumer rights lawyer and follow his instructions.

Consider Debt Settlement

When deciding whether or not to stop debt collectors from calling you please also consider whether or not they are treating you in a fair, honest, and dignified manner. If so, and the debt is legitimately yours to pay, you should consider working with them to resolve the debt. They may offer a good settlement that you can afford. Again, however, you should consult with a consumer protection attorney before taking any settlement with a debt collector so you don’t inadvertently pay a debt you are not legally required to pay.

Gather Information to Help You Stop Debt Collectors

Before you stop debt collectors from calling, you should use the debt collection telephone calls to gather information from the debt collector. First, find out who is calling and don’t trust the caller ID. Ask the caller his name, company name, and company address. He will probably lie or hang up on you but ask anyway and write down the answers and anything else the collector says or does. Take detailed notes of each and every call either during the call or at least as soon as the call ends. Write as many details as possible but especially note any threats, profanity, lies, or promises the collection agency makes. Take a picture of the caller ID to preserve the date, time, and phone number of the call. Good records will be critical for future use.

Never Acknowledge the Debt

When you speak with debt collectors it is important for you to never admit you owe the debt. Don’t lie, but don’t admit anything either. Simply decline to answer any questions about the debt. If you do acknowledge the debt you could lose your legal rights and actually reset the time period in which the debt collectors can attempt to collect the debt.

Conclusion

Inexperienced attorneys, unscrupulous credit repair agencies, and endless Internet forum discussion boards will incorrectly advise you to notify the debt collector in writing to stop the debt collector from calling you. An experienced FDCPA litigation attorney will caution otherwise. Doing so can trigger a loss of your legal rights and destruction of evidence. Instead of harming your case with bad advice, you should first contact an experienced and knowledgeable consumer rights attorney who can properly advise you of the best course of action for your individual situation. Feel free to call us at 801-297-2494 if you need assistance in making a debt collector stop calling you. Self-help is not the best course of action if you are being abused or harassed by a debt collector.


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