When we get that first lender phone call...

[KT in CA]

what should we tell them? We have no interest in a loan mod and don't plan on making any future payments. If we just are upfront and tell them that when they make that first call, are they still going to constantly call us? I really don't want the calls at our works, and I know by law they have to at least try to contact us. What if we just never answer the phone? And if they call work I will tell them that I cannot have personal calls. My husband doesn't works in the field, so when they call the number for his job, he will never be there. I probably should tell him to tell the office what is going on so they don't give them his cell phone. Just wondering if anyone has any advice. I'm pretty anxious about this part of it all.

KT

[Professor Shays]

I'd suggest following the approach shown below that I borrowed from a website.

Daniel

Congress enacted federal legislation that regulates debt collectors and collection attorneys and protects the rights of debtors. This law, The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, requires that debt collectors and attorneys stop phoning you at home and at work once you ask them to stop. The law specifies that your request must be in writing, therefore, you should tell them to stop calling you at home and at work the next time they call, but then follow it up with a certified letter, return receipt requested.


Sample telephone script:


You: Hello.


Collector: Is this Jane Doe?


You: Speaking.


Collector: Hello, Mrs. Doe. I'm Charlie with Acme Collections calling again about your delinquent credit card account with XYZ Bank. Could I get a payment of $250 by check over the phone from you today?


You: No, I don't have the money. As I told you before, I am currently unemployed and simply can't pay right now.


Collector: Well, Mrs. Doe, this account is seriously delinquent and we will continue our collection efforts.


You: I understand, but I simply cannot pay right now. It is a waste of your time and mine to keep calling me when I can't pay. I am requesting that you not contact me by phone in the future. I do not want to receive any more calls from you at home or at work and am asking you to communicate with me only in writing.


Collector: Okay, Mrs. Doe, I'll put your request in our files.


You: Thank you. Goodbye.


If the debt collector refuses to comply with your do not call request you will have to quote the actual law:


Collector: No, Mrs. Doe. We will continue to call you until you pay this debt!


You: The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act requires that you stop phoning me at home and at work once I request that you do so. I intend to send you a certified letter tomorrow putting my no contact request in writing. If you continue to phone me, then I will file a complaint with the FTC and the attorney general."


If the original creditor refuses to comply with your do not call request:


The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act does not apply to original creditors, like a credit card company; it only applies to debt collection agencies and attorneys collecting debt. Therefore, do not quote the FDCPA to get original creditors to stop calling. Instead, quote state law which governs original creditors but usually has similar provisions to the federal legislation. Sample script:


You: It is my understanding that [Texas, Michigan, California] law requires that you stop phoning me at home and at work when I request that you do so, is that correct?


Creditor: Yes, but we will continue our collection efforts.


You: I understand that, but Texas law says that you must stop phoning me at home and at work once I ask you to. I am officially requesting that you not phone me at home or at work. If you need to communicate with me, then do it in writing. I will send you a certified letter this week officially asking you to stop contacting me by phone.


Creditor: Alright Mrs. Doe. As you request, we will not phone you in the future.


Note: Collectors do have the right to call you after you request them to stop phoning you if the status of your account changes. They can call you to tell you they are (1) giving up collection efforts; (2) are turning your account over to an attorney; or (3) are going to sue you. But usually, they won't call you again after you request that they don't. If a debt collector does contact you after you request that he stop, you might have the right to sue and collect damages.

[elpjohnson]

professor.....

Does this apply if your lender calls you every month on the 4th to remind your to pay your mortgage?

[KT in CA]

I like those suggestions. I will print those out and give to my husband. I'm hoping they call home first before work, so he can tell them that the cannot call us there. Or home anymore for that matter. We'll see what happens I guess.

[KT in CA]

Professor -

I have searched online to find a sample letter to send to our mortgage company. I know you said that I can request they only contact us in writing, but I don't see anywhere in the CA laws where it says that applies to original creditors. Just debt collection agencies. Would you be able to direct me to more information on this and how it applies in CA? And if anyone in CA has a letter they have used for this purpose I'd be grateful if you posted it. Thanks...

[AZChick]

Yes please, post a sample, I'd love to have one too.

[Professor Shays]

Sample Letter:


Your Name
Your Address
Date
Collection Agency's Name
Collection Agency's Address

Subject:

Debt Collection Against [Your Name] Creditor Name: [Creditor] Account No. [Number]

Dear Account Representative,
I am writing pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692c(c), to request that you cease all communication to me about my account [number ________] with [creditor].

[If you wish, explain your circumstances. For example, "I was recently laid off from my job, and I do not presently have any resources with which to pay off this debt. Once I have again secured employment, I intend to resume payment on the debt."]

[If there have been any violations of the FDCPA, you may wish to describe them. For example, "Please note that in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, one of your agents contacted me last night at 9:30 PM. Should your agency contact me at any time in the future, please be sure that your contact is made in full compliance with the FDCPA."]

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

[Professor Shays]

KT in CA said, "I have searched online to find a sample letter to send to our mortgage company. I know you said that I can request they only contact us in writing, but I don't see anywhere in the CA laws where it says that applies to original creditors. Just debt collection agencies."

You are correct. There is nothing I'm aware of that restricts the creditors. However, the term "debt collector" should be broadly interpreted. A good definition is as follows:

"A debt collector may be an employee of the creditor, a member of a firm or company which collects debts on a creditor’s behalf, or attorneys who also perform this service."

In virtually all of these settings, the entity you are talking to isn't the creditor, but handling the account as a loan servicer. As such, one of their primary responsibilities is to act as a debt collector.

Daniel

[KT in CA]

I see. It's all in the interpretation. Got it. Okay. Well I guess we will tell them that when they call, and then find the information to send them the request in writing. I have a feeling it will take a few attempts. Thank Professor for the info. Helpful as usual.

[MH_Sucker]

I guess it depends on the lender but we are going on our 3rd month of not paying and they only called us once and left a message on the voice mail. We have received a ton of stuff in the mail but only the one phone call. Kind of strange!!

[KT in CA]

Our lender is AmTrust for both our first and second. No one here seems to have them, so I have no idea what to expect from them as far as phone calls go. I hope we are that lucky.

[cactus77727]

Hi KT in CA,

I have different lender services than you (Litton and Specialized). I thought they'd be calling all the time but they really haven't. Weekly at the most. It seems the more I answer and talk to them, the less they call. It's the computer auto dialers that keep calling back when you don't answer. The first few conversations way back in month one and two were longer. Now my calls are very short, and every two weeks or so. It's like: Got the money? No. Why? No job. OK. Call us if you get a job. OK bye bye!

[KT in CA]

Thanks for the info. I'm just so anxious. It's bad enough we have to give up our house.

[ultimate4799]

Hey KT, how are you? Did you got any phone call from your lenders yet? If so, what did you tell them? Are your planning to drag process to optimize rent free please keep us posted... take care..

[KT in CA]

Haven't heard anything yet. We were late on the 17th, so we'll see how long it takes. We are not planning on dragging out the process, so we figure we probably have 6 months rent free. I guess that all depends how reactive they are and when they file the NOD. I will keep you posted. Thanks for asking.

KT

[LeavingAZ]

Will they call after the actual foreclosure??
We've received calls at home and have answered them.
I don't think they've got the work phone though...
I just hope they don't bother us at work!!!

[KT in CA]

They can't if you tell them they can't call you there.

[LeavingAZ]

Well the weird thing is that everytime I speak to them, they ask me to verify cell and work phone numbers. Of course I tell them the cell on file, but I never have given them a work phone number. They gave me a bogus one one day and I said I wasnt sure...so as long as I talk to them on the phone from home, I don't think they'll bother me at work. I do tell them bluntly that I don't believe I wanna work out a deal, that I just can't afford anything right now. They always say that they will note the acct, thats it. After a while, the calls will stop. They've stopped for us.

[KT in CA]

No phone calls yet. Just a form letter with our February mortage statement that if we are experiencing problems paying our mortgage maybe they can help blah blah blah.

KT

[trajay]

Ours calls once a day but never leaves a message. Its weird, we were a couple days late on our truck payment a while back and Chase called every hour on the hour!!

[JohnCampbell08]

I need to try that phone script...I have been getting at least 2 calls a day recently....about 60 days late coming up

[HopingtoFind]

Originally Posted by KT in CA

Our lender is AmTrust for both our first and second. No one here seems to have them, so I have no idea what to expect from them as far as phone calls go. I hope we are that lucky.

We have AmTrust and we are trying to get them to modify our loan... From what I have experienced, they are not very big on calling.. I probably had 3 phone calls total from them since we started this process end of October, although I probably recieved 6 or 7 letters since end of December. I know modification process is different....but still you get that feeling that they are not that comfortable with phone calls.

[KT in CA]

I think we talked on another one of these threads since we seem to be the only 2 with AmTrust. I hope you are right. So far so good. No phone calls as of yet. Only a notice with our February mortgage statements. We'll see what happens after we miss February too.

[jdsd21]

JohnCampbell, are you getting 2 calls a day that you answer, or do you miss the calls, so they are repeated daily?

[jdsd21]

Hey all,

How much information should we disclose to these people that are calling about late payments? Should we go into a detailed explanation of why we aren't paying our mortgage or can we simply just state that we can't afford it?