Personal creditor calls

Belinda · August 2003

Can I ask an employee to ask their creditors to stop calling them at work?

System · August 2003

Sure.

Parabeagle · August 2003

Don, will you stop being so verbose and just get to the point? x;-)

System · August 2003

OK. Yes, you can do that. You can include it in a handbook. You can cover it in general meetings. You can post it on the bulletin boards. You can have the receptionist admonish the caller and even hang up on them. But, you will never stop the collectors from calling as long as people list their place of employment on the credit applications. We all feel your pain.

System · August 2003

These calls get put through to me usually. How would you respond - should I say that we do not confirm that kind of info? We don't have a handbook or any policy that covers this, so I could use a good put-off line!

LindaS · August 2003

LindaD - are you refering to creditors that are calling to verify employment or creditors calling and asking to speak to the employee? If they are calling to verify employment, I inform anyone calling that we require a written request and that any information beyond whether or not they are an employee requires the employees signature. As for creditors calling and asking to leave a message, I inform the person that the employee is unable to receive personal calls and inform them that they need to contact the individual at home.

sonny · August 2003

I say "Is this a collections call?" They ususally babble something about personal business. I say "I will see the employee gets this message ONCE. I can not guarentee they will call you back. Do not call here again. If this item is related to collections, call them at home."

rad · August 2003

Try to get a copy of your state's collection order. That may provide you with a legal basis for refusing the calls. Some states do not allow calls to work, some allow them for some collections calls, like credit cards and loans, but not others, like utilities. Your state utilities commission should have this info.

Camlan · August 2003

I believe that there is a Federal law or regulation about collection agencies calling or writing or contacting debtors. If the debtor so requests, the agency cannot contact them by any means--at home, at work or any place else. Also, they cannot contact friends or relatives of the debtors.

I don't know how many of your employees are bothered by these people, but you can tell your employees to tell the agencies not to contact them at work, and you might also tell them the same rules apply for them at home. If the agency does not comply, the debtor can then take the agency to court. With luck, the settlement will then cover what the debtor owes.

Cammy

mwild31 · August 2003

Hi Belinda

Here's our rule in Washington State:

When a Collection Agency Contacts You

The first time a collection agency contacts you, it must give its name and address, and the name of the original creditor (the business or person you owe money to). It must also tell you in writing the amount of the debt and any fees which have been added, such as interest or collection fees. You must also be informed of your right to dispute the information.

A collection agency cannot call or write to you more than three times a week. Only one of those calls can be at work. You cannot be called between 9 pm and 8 am.

A collection agency cannot harass, intimidate, threaten, or embarrass you. It cannot threaten violence, criminal prosecution, or use offensive language.
If you send a written statement requesting a collection agency to stop, it cannot continue to call or write to you to demand payment.

To check with your state - you may want to contact your Attorney General's Office or website.

I hope it helps!

pecohr · August 2003

I keep it simple; Is this call of an emergency nature, no, call them at home... period.

cebudragonlady · August 2003

And what of the collectors who will lie about the call being an emergency?

Chari

pecohr · August 2003

I ask for the nature of the emergency and usually thisend the conversation.

juju · August 2003

Well usually our collectors are weeded out by the "emergency" line. However, I've had a couple who DO state it's important but either can't pronounce the employee's name or ask "is she there" when the person they are referring to is male. I just explain that if they truly WERE family, they would know the sex/pronounciation of the employee's name. Gotta get SOME kind of laugh out of the whole thing!

karenosi · August 2003

Can't remember where I heard it, but I was told it was illegal for collectors to call an employee at work. I've had a couple come to me because they were receiving abusive calls and were threatened with "a call to HR". I told them to tell the collector it was illegal to contact them at work. They did - and quit receiving the calls. So, I don't know if it's really true or if the collectors are stupid.

Cinderella · August 2003

A colleague of mine had one of her Welder's collectors calling all day, every day. She tried everything short of reaching through the phone and strangling the person to get them to understand the Welder worked in a shop and couldn't stop working to come answer the phone--she would give the ee the message but couldn't and wouldn't do anything more. Finally what worked was she turned the "record" feature on her phone on and immediately upon answering the collector's call she said, "the conversation is being recorded". The collector said "you can't do that! I don't want to be recorded!" so my colleague told her "if you don't want to be recorded you can terminate this call, otherwise this conversation will be recorded". Guess what? CLICK! They never heard from that collector at the office again.
Cinderella

Personal creditor calls

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