I am not surprised. When I was in debt 5 years ago I went through some pretty horrible phone calls. I had to get my number changed it got so bad. They called my boss & co-workers and continually harrassed me at my office and at home.

I was a collections agent in a doctors office. The hardest thing was to hound patients for money I knew they likely did not have, especially if they suffered from cancer or something worse. I never knowingly broke the law, but the doctors were very adament that they wanted their money. I was forced to pass on their threats and was encouraged to intimidate them...anything to get money. At the end of the day, I didn't sleep well at night, and finally quit.
Many of these debt collectors are unhappy in their own lives and this is a way to pass on their misery to others less fortunate than themselves...and get paid for it. Thing is, karma has a way of catching up...one day they could be the ones getting the call. They never know.

Most agencies do not break the law. It is unfortunate that there are some collectors and some agencies out there that do break the law but most of the ones that have been around a while do comply with collectoin laws. To continue to call somebody after they have said they dont have any money isnt harrassment and isnt wrong. Try to picture what the US economy would be like if everybody could legally stop paying their bills if they were in a tough spot. Why is all the publics anger and hatred focused on the debt collectors (who the majority of follow the laws) instead of the past due consumer who causes interest rates to increase?
The 66,627 complaints filed with the FTC represent less then 1% of the total calls and/or accounts handled by collection agencies so while it does seem a lot, it shows that the problem is not as rampant as some would like the populus to believe.

I have been in the collection industry for 18 years. I have worked for attorneys as well as collection agencies. While there are those in our industry as well as most other industries who exploit the system to their advantage, most collectors are carefully monitored. In addition, consumers are more educated, and technology is in their favor. It is unwise from a legal standpoint to break the law. It makes more sense to assist consumers in finding ways to resolve their issue and keep communication open between all involved parties. Nowadays people will just hang up on you if you are rude, as well they should. I have had a great amount of success in this business and have never been sued, and have never had a state complaint. A collector, no matter how "good" they are, is simply a liability to their employer if they are not compliant with the law.

I am suffering from a similar situation. I hounded on my job, at home and recently a neighbor gave a phone message from a creditor. I believe everyone goes thru this time in the life at least once, unfortunately it can't be helped, but what the creditor doesn't understand is we can give you what we don't have. Plain and simple.

When I had my daughter 21 years ago I could not pay the bills. I sent what I could and that was not good enough. I was harased for almost 6 months to the point of tears every time the colectors called me. they told me they would put me in jail and my new born would end up in foster care. they told my husband they would have the police there in the hour to arrest him. I changed my number and they stopped. About 2 years ago I had a bill that I was slow paying on and they started calling my house at all hours. I had learned that I can tell them to stop and send me paper bills and I would pay them as I could. I have called their bluffs ever since and they do not bother me any more.

A lot of debt collectors are in heavy debt themselves --- the job ads promise high commissions, and these folks need the money to get out of debt. So they sometimes cross the line.

What concerns me most is the potential for fraud. It's easy for someone to access your credit record, then call on a really old bill and offer you a settlement. These folks tend to get very abusive if you don't fall for the scam. If I didn't initiate the call, we have nothing to discuss.

I don't deal with collection agents, period. Call me once, you get the warning. Call me twice, I file a complaint. It's that simple.

My daughter won a lawsuit against a debt collector (attorneys from Dallas) who harassed her at work and threatened her with arrest. The abuse was horrible. Now, she has been waiting for over 7 months while they appeal. I am sure that by the time this whole thing is over, her $75,000 victory will have been eaten up by attorney's fees.

You have to be pretty low on the totem pole to even want a job making phone calls to collect debt on behalf of large corporations. I bet the debt level of some of these people is just as bad as those they are calling!

After two layoffs and near financial ruin, my wife got an abusive call from a collector. I was working interim in a metal shop. So, I got the 800 number from her and called it. When the grouchy, bossy lady answered, I put my cell phone down on a metal table and next to it I pounded my sheet-metal hammer 4 times. The sound was was ear-splitting! I had ear plugs in but I swore my ears were ringing after that. That was quite evil of me but it felt good to make someone else's ears ring because my wife was undeserving of that immature abusiveness. Oh, it is kindof fun also to play along with collectors. They call call up and try to "help" the debt get paid. "When I was cooking mac'n'cheese and hotdogs I got a call. The boy told me to eat hot dogs instead of steak to save money. I told him I was doing that before I was in debt because I couldn't afford steak then. After 15 mins. of getting nowhere and being near tears he reached his limit and said he didn't know how else to help me. I told him I never called him and asked for his help so I didn't really need it. Bottom line... I had no money and I wouldn't have it until I got a good job.

I, too, have been through the harassing phone calls with debt collectors. I think it is really a shame that our government, which seems to enjoy putting restrictions on our personal lives, can't seem to put a stop to this.

Well, let's look at the other side. There are countless people out there who don't think they are obligated to pay their bills. Most of the time it's not a question of ability, it's a question of these people deciding to spend their money on other things rather than paying their debts. I certainly don't agree with the tactics described in the story, but we do need to come up with a way to make people pay what they fairly owe. Too many people are squirming out of their debts these days.

I don't mind, I just laugh at them. I like to make fun of them, honestly they don't scare me. If there is a debt collector reading this I have some words for you, "Bring it on!"

I went through this hell twice. In both cases I had money owed to me and the companies insisted I owed them! I had to contact the attorney general's office to stop the harassment and recover what was rightfully mine. Companies are constanly under pressure to make money for their sharholders and wealthy executives. Its too bad innocent people have to make it happen for them.

Fact is, they can do nothing, except ruin your credit rating. There is no debtors prison here. I have had a few dealings with them, but most times, if I was courteous to them and expressed an interest in resolving it, they worked with me. If they played hardball, I immediately hung up, called back and asked for a supervisor. Bottom line, if they treat you like you would treat them, I have no problem cooperating if I actually owe the money. If they act like I'm some scumbag that needs my attitude adjusted, I let them know whose attitude is about to get adjusted.

You have to be a beggar for your meal ticket to get a job as a collector, and resort to these practices. The Internet offers many free templates of letters to send the companies, threatening them back basing your complaint on FTC legislation, and demanding to have them get off your case. USE THEM!

I received a letter from a collection agency that stated a $299 check was sent to me, and asked to return the letter with the appropriate box checked: a) I have received the check and cashed it; b) I have received the check and forwarded it to the doctor's office; c) I have received the check and have not cashed it or forwarded it; or d) I have not received the check. I then called the agency's 800 number and talked to 2 people there, called the insurance company and talked to 2 people there, and called the doctor's office and talked to the billing lady. The lady at the doctor's office was the only one who could confirm it was a legitimate letter, that people do in fact receive checks that are intended for the doctor's office, and most of the people who are honest about it are elderly. I couldn't believe insurance companies would send a patient a check and actually believe it would get to the doctor's office. In my case, no check was ever sent, and I said if I'd received one, I'd call the insurance company myself to get the details. I don't want a check intended for the doctor! Since that call I haven't heard from them again, so hopefully they found the check and paid the doctor.

My wife went through this about two years ago with a debt collector for Finacial Aid. They were very rude and were calling her everyday harrassing her, threatening her even being disrespectful and vulgar on the phone. Finally I told her enough was enough. We reported the collector and threatened them with legal action. By the end of whole ordeal they assigned another agent to my wifes case. I think they fired the other one, but regardless it was all uncalled for. Not everyone who has debts are just not trying to pay them, some are just not able to for whatever reason.

With the economy the way it is there are some that are honestly have trouble making ends meet. When it comes to paying house note or rent and food versus paying a bill, guess which gets paid. I give the collectors credit for their persistance but if you don't have it you don't have it. Calling everyday is not going to make the money come any faster with or without threats.

My son just had his bank account zeroed out by a bill collector. They did a "skip trace" and somehow found one of his brothers cell phone numbers and began harrassing him at all hours. The collector stated the number was put on the credit application-funny since the phone service was signed one year later than the credit app.

Due to holding payments until past due and all the extra charges the credit card company ran up the bill to a thousand dollars. When he stated he owe that amount and could not pay the reduced amount to clear the account the collector stated this "business is over" and hung up on my son. The next day the collector had found his bank account and cleaned it out.