An argumentative day today

Hope tomorrow is a better one!!!

Yup everyone has them... its okay.[]

Marty, I can sure sympathize about the dang endless phone calls. I finally asked one of them one day - "Just what part of  1. My son is waaay over 18 and I am not responsible for his bills and I don't care if he pays them or not and   2. He hasn't lived here for more than 5 years" do you NOT understand?" before I not-so-gently hung up. [:@] I think their sole purpose in life is to drive as many people nuts as they can. *sigh*  Some days, I think they're succeeding.

Joyce

As for those who read my apt thread...I'm waiting for my phone call from the collection place as well. Shouldn't they send you a statement first then phone call? or they just called you directly and notify you that you owe money? I would like to see what I owe first before I pay it!!

If I understand correctly, you have a legal right to stop the collection harassment. They should NOT be calling you.  I think you can even get collection agencies to stop calling you if you ARE the responsible party.  You might want to check with a credit services organization on that. 
 
Sorry you're having a bad day. [&:]

[sm=tex.gif]Marty_ga  Hello. and sorry about your upsetting day.  We have all had them.  If a collection agency calls you and harrasses you just say " can you please give me your home phone number so I can call you at your dinner time or at your sleep time"  Worked for me.  Or better yet, your supervisors home phone number.  If your son truly did fix the debt, I have a very scary letter that he could send to the agency.  I found a site on the net, copied the letter and guess what within 2 weeks the debt was removed from my credit report.  IT WORKED.  It is full of legal jargin with all these legal numbers.  I could send you a copy, I keep it on my desktop for emergency.  Just let me know thru this post or email me at alilttlebitmish@hotmail.com.  GOOD LUCK!!   Fondly, Michele

Yes Michelle, I could use it, although I don't know where to send it...maybe son could figure it out.  Feel free to PM me.

This was over a cell phone...don't remember exactly, but I think he turned in his cell phone for a new "free" one and they tried to charge him for it.  He thought he had settled the problem, but after 4 years or so, we started getting the calls.  Right now there are 2 different agencies calling us, and one of them is a computer call, so no one is there when you do pick up the phone.  This poor guy was on the line.  My phone announces it is a "private caller" and since my daughter moved, her calls say the same thing.  So I never know who is calling.  That's why I'm getting irritated...

But it would be nice to make them stop!

When my ex-husband died, his mail started showing up at my house.  He had a credit card that had a $9,000 balance on it and it was through a major bank.  I politely sent them a letter with a copy of his death certificate, and our divorce papers to tell them he was gone and I was not responsible for his debt.  He had no estate because he had no real assets.  I did this 3 times, in addition to fielding numerous phone calls about when it was going to be paid.  I finally got someone to understand the situation, so after nearly a year, the harassment ended.  About three months after that, guess what came in the mail?  A new credit card from the same bank in his name with some outrageous limit - all he had to do was call to activate it! 
 
I also dealt with numerous calls and letters from collections and banks about his other ex-wife, one he married and divorced after me.  I kept telling the people she did not live at my house.  Anything that came in her name, I'd write return to sender on it.  Finally I called one of the collections' agencies and gave them all the info I knew about her - phone number, last known address, etc.  She lived in the same town as I do and still does, so maybe they found her.
 
It amazes me that they will practically stop at nothing to collect money.  Just because I had the same last name as my ex and his ex, does that make me the responsible party?  Am I the keeper of the info for everybody who has the same last name I do?  It's not a terribly common name - I can only imagine the harassment people tagged with Smith endure!
 
Do I blame you, Marty, for being irritated?  Absolutely not!

It is illegal for them to discuss your sons debt with you.  In MOST states it's illegal for them to discuss your HUSBANDS debt with you, even if it's a credit card and you are a signer on the card.  The exceptions are the community property states (I think).  Do a bit of research and then hit the jerks with the facts and threaten legal action if they don't quit bothering YOU.

[linkhttp://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/money/fair-debt/fair-dbt.htm]http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/money/fair-debt/fair-dbt.htm[/link]
 
All you need to know about stopping those annoying calls.  You fall under the the 3rd party category unless you signed on the contract with your son. 
 
Site the act next time they call - ask them for an address.  Send certified mail never to contact you again.  When they do take them to small claims court and also report to your state attorney's office (i think) for violating the act. 

Good luck. 

Debt collectors will exploit every ave they have.  They will call anyone and everyone you can imagine.  Again, they will explore every ave you can imagine, knowing they will probably never get their money, some sue, some.....Most....They look at everything, how long you've been on a job, name it.
 
You can explain a situation until you're blue in the face, they refuse to listen. 
 
Sharismom, if they catch up with this women, they can do very little to her.  How do you know these debts don't have something to do with your ex, did you open mail that wasn't addressed to you?  I was told, all they had to do is file with probate, put in a claim.  If there was no property, that was worth garnishing, they would go onto life insurance, that sounded insulting, the debt would have been paid.
 
Collectors can't, can not legally discuss the reason they call a third party, although it's easy enough to digest, however, if they're ever sued for illegal practices, well, I would be careful to where they get their info, who they discuss it with, what info they give.  These people also lie.  More and more consumers are fighting back, and winning. 
 
I worked in the industry for 15 years.  We didn't care if someone lost their job, if they had a spouse that died, if they were injured, we expected people to pay their debts before they bought food or paid rent/mortage. 
 
 

How do you know these debts don't have something to do with your ex, did you open mail that wasn't addressed to you?

 
I never opened the mail that came in my ex's ex-wife's name.  I always put return to sender on it.  I didn't want to know what their business was (my ex & her).  I didn't even open the stuff that came for him until the bank started calling me.
 

if they catch up with this women, they can do very little to her.

 
Especially since you can't get blood from a stone!

Angeldog, Jen is right.  They should send you a statement of what you owe them, but they are not allowed to continually call and harass you.  If you've got caller ID, use it to just ignore any calls from unknown or toll free numbers.

Joyce

It is illegal for them to discuss your sons debt with you. In MOST states it's illegal for them to discuss your HUSBANDS debt with you, even if it's a credit card and you are a signer on the card.

 
You know, a few days ago I broke down crying because of how frustrated I was with this.  *I* handle EVERYTHING!  But they wont freaking talk to ME, has to be HIM... getting him to call the credit card company is like getting him to wear womens underwear... not happening.  This wouldnt be so bad if he hadnt already told them 3 times it was OKAY to talk to me but they "dont have record of that".   Well lady what the HE** do you have to do to "GET YOURSELF A RECORD OF IT???????"
 
Okay Im clam now... deep breaths