posted on June 12, 2001 04:44:51 PM new
I received a telephone call this evening (the first of many) from Bank One Visa asking for my mother. I informed them that my mother is in a nursing home, and is a Medicaid patient (in other words, has no money). "Scott Fitzgerald" proceeded to get nasty with me, and told me that I was a liar. I offered to give Scott the name of the nursing home where my mother resides, and he replied "Are you saying I should 'dun' your 75 year old mother at a nursing home?". I then hung up on him, and he called back... again and again and again. He said that since she cannot pay her debt to Bank One Visa, that I should pay it for her. The phone calls continued and I called our local Sheriff's Department. They referred me to Sprint's harrassing phone call department, who then told me I needed to get some more information from this Scott person, like the name of his collection agency, an address, a phone number, anything that might help. The calls have stopped for now, but I know they are going to start up, probably late this evening and early in the morning. I just want you all to know what kind of an outfit Bank One Visa is.
Thank you for listening. And please tell your friends!
posted on June 12, 2001 05:11:48 PM new
Ohhh Muriel, go get 'em. Get the information you need. Should be easy if you pretend that you might send the money. To whom and what address. Be sure you have his name correctly spelled. Note the time, and date of his call.
He has no right to take that attitude with someone who is not signed on the card.
posted on June 12, 2001 05:27:02 PM new
Muriel, the next time the guy calls, tell him you need ALL of the information in writing, so you can then forward it to your Attorney. Nicely explain that you cannot do any business with someone on the phone, and that he needs to send you the information on his company, his full name, phone numbers, his supervisors name, etc.
We did this a couple of years ago with a collection agency. When we remodeled our kitchen, we contracted with a local Carpet/Flooring Company. The entire deal was a nightmare from start to finish. The floor was done twice, and is still a disaster. That company went under right after our dealings with them, and we still owed $600. 2 years after is when this collection agency started calling. After numerous calls, attempts to fax them (these faxes always disappeared) the 4 page Complaint letter we had originally sent to their Corporate Headquarters, and talking with a young man who was totally inept, I gave him the response I suggested you use.
We never heard from him again. I was kind of hoping they would take us to small claims court. No judge would have ruled against us after reading our 4 page detailed diary of the whole mess. They should have given us our $600 downpayment back. My husband missed almost 10 hours of work, they didn't show up 6 times, they "lost" our phone number and couldn't call us (we live 2 miles from their store and there are only 5 numbers in the phonebook with our last name). We moved the frig 4 times when they were supposed to show up. Once the installer showed up, and said he couldn't stay. At that point, I made him leave the materials for the job in our garage. I have a beautiful vinyl floor with staple heads coming up through it...it's great!
Sorry for the rant...after 4 years it still just rips my shorts.
posted on June 12, 2001 05:57:20 PM new
Had a similar situation in Ohio and the fool gave me his actual location to go see him in the office. After I saw him at his office he never called again. I explained how unhappy it made me to come in and find my wife crying because he had yelled at her on the phone.
posted on June 12, 2001 06:03:05 PM new
Good advice, you guys. I'm just waiting for the phone to ring so I can get all the information I need (written and via the phone). But I'm afraid that my husband is going to answer and read this guy the riot act, or that my daughter is going to answer and will say something stupid. I want this guy! He's MINE!
posted on June 12, 2001 06:22:25 PM new
My guess is that you are dealing with a collection agency.....NOT Bank One (whoever they are). Companies don't tend to pull these tactics, but collection agency's do.
That said, you (and your mother) do have rights! They are NOT allowed to harrass or threaten you (other than the ol', "your credit rating will suffer" ), and they are required to notify in writing about your debit (usually when they 'buy the dept' from the original company.
I would suggest getting any information you can (as has been suggested) withOUT the threat of a lawyer (for now).
posted on June 12, 2001 06:34:13 PM new
I had a similar thing happen only it was in regards to my ex-husbands late car payments.
At first they were very nice. Saying how they wanted to work things out with him. That they did not want to reposess the car, etc...
When I informed them that I did not know his where abouts (and I didn't), they started to get mean. They wanted my kids to get his address the next time he came and visited them. They also said they could put a lien on my house (had ex's name on title), or they would come after me to pay even though we were divorced. They even said they could put a lien on my parents house. They told me my parents address to prove that they knew where they lived.
After 2-3 calls and me refusing to tell them anything, they stopped calling.
If this is a collection agency (not the collection dept. of Bank One Visa) Federal law prohibits unwanted phone calls.
All you need to do is send a cease and desist notice (certified mail) and be sure to include the certified mail receipt numbers in the body of the letter, to the offending collection agency.
Site the the following statute and notify them that you do not want any further telephone contact regarding this debt. Keep a copy of the letter and file the return receipt with it. If the calls continue (and they won't) log the call with the phone company as harassment. If they don't stop, you can take action against them. They WILL stop. This law does not actually apply to "in house" collection depts (inside Bank One). Although, even they will usually honor the above formal request to cease and desist.
Under this act, collection agencys and attorneys MUST cease all attempts to collect the debt in question by phone after receiving written notice to cease and desist.
Hope this helps, good luck.
[ edited by RM on Jun 12, 2001 08:15 PM ]
posted on June 13, 2001 12:20:00 AM new
Muriel, this sounds like one of the telephone scams that we suffer from in this state. The scammer pretends to be a representative from the company, but is in reality a con-artist. Please pretend that you are going to write this person a check just as soon as they can send you the bill. When the bill arrives (if it does), then you turn it over to the Attorney General's office for your state. They'll investigate it in a jiffy and let you know what they find out. Remember: you are NEVER responsible for anyone else's bills, unless you co-signed for them! And collection companies know that too and will not ask of you such a thing. That is why I can say it is probably a scam.
posted on June 13, 2001 05:34:40 AM new
If they're a collection agency hired by Bank One you really should call Bank One and let them know how you're being treated when you're not a customer. If they are actually Bank One's inhouse collection agency, they won't care one way or the other.
He did break the law first by telling you about another person's debt. That's illegal unless you're on the card with her.
Once you tell an agency not to call your home or business, they have to stop calling. They can, however, sue your mother for the balance. They won't get anywhere if she's not able to answer the charges, but they can make life miserable, put liens on her property, etc.
Do you have power of attorney over your mother's legal things? If so, you are responsible for paying her bills out of her estate. I would assume you or a sibling does or I don't think they would take her in a nursing home. Someone has to handle her finances (or lack of), etc. How did they get your name and number?
When my sister passed away, the cc companies would call my older sister for payment. She told them she passed away and that she (my older sister) could not pay her bills. The cc companies were concerned that my deceased sister's credit would be ruined. (Uh, she doesn't need any where she is.) They finally stopped calling.
I was able to get Bank One's address and a fax number to submit my complaint in writing. They were very apologetic and told me that if he calls back, I need to get his ID number so he can be fired. I liked the idea of that - heh heh heh. So I'm going to write a letter, but I hope he calls back because he will crap when I say that Bank One has asked me to get his ID number.
posted on June 13, 2001 02:39:54 PM new
Glad to hear that it turned out. I had a similar situation once. A friend that live with us had his car repossesed before he moved in with us. They called once and I told them not to call anymore, that this was my phone not his and to communicate with him through the USPS. They sent a letter. They called again. Recognized the voice, so I hung up. He called back and hung up on me. Called the bank directly, got a supervisor and told him that if they ever called my number again that I would sue them for harassment and the would end up owning the bank when I was through. Never heard from them again.
