Mark explains how Canadians can avoid collection calls: what to do when a collector reaches them, how to screen calls, and how to keep a call from starting by not confirming their identity.
Transcript
If you want to avoid collection calls, then you need to watch this video. I will be sharing with you my insights gained from working three decades in the debt collection and debt relief industries. If you watch to the end of this video, then you will learn how you can avoid a collection call despite the fact that a bill collector has gotten you on the phone. I'm Mark Silverthorn, the founder of Debt Coach Silverthorn.
Collection calls can be very unpleasant. I don't know anyone who likes receiving them. When I was practising law as a consumer lawyer, hundreds of Canadians were quite happy to pay me $100 to send a cease and desist letter to the entity making payment demands to them. There are two key ways that you can avoid speaking with a bill collector. In some instances, it might be possible for you to act to stop collection calls. Alternatively, it is possible for a person to conduct themselves in such a manner as to avoid collection calls.
If bill collectors are calling your workplace and speaking with your co-workers, then you might want to act to stop these collection calls. This involves you or your legal representative sending what is known as a cease and desist letter to the entity that is making the collection calls. It is illegal for them to make any further collection calls after receipt of the cease and desist letter. If, however, bill collectors are not calling your workplace, then I suggest that the most effective strategy by far for dealing with collection calls is to learn how to avoid them.
Today I am going to address three separate scenarios. Number one, the response where a collector has gotten you on the phone and you have acknowledged your identity. Number two, tactics to prevent a collector from getting you on the phone. And number three, preventing a collector who has got you on the phone from commencing a collection call.
When a collector has you on the phone
If a bill collector has gotten you on the phone and you identify yourself, then the collector is legally entitled to discuss your unpaid account with you. You are, however, legally entitled to terminate the call at any time. This means that if a collector gets you on the phone, then you can hang up the phone at any time. You might decide to do this immediately, or you might choose to do it after you have learned more about the debt the bill collector is calling about. For example, you might want to learn some of the following information: the name of the creditor, the account in question, the current outstanding balance, the name of the bill collector's employer, the bill collector's name and the bill collector's phone number.
Keeping the collector off the phone
There are numerous tactics that you can employ to avoid the bill collector getting you on the phone. If you have call display on your phone, then you can answer only calls from callers that you know. If you are trying to avoid collection calls, it can be very helpful if you have voicemail on your phone. This gives you the opportunity not to answer any calls from numbers that you cannot identify. In some instances, you might want to have someone else answer your incoming calls and screen them. You can instruct them to simply take a message on your behalf. If you are at home, you might ask a family member or roommate to screen your calls. Alternatively, if you are at work, you might want to have your assistant or co-worker screen all your calls.
Stopping a collection call before it starts
I am now going to share with you today's bonus feature. It is possible for you to prevent a bill collector from commencing a collection call with you after he or she has gotten you on the phone. Due to privacy laws, a bill collector is not permitted to commence a collection call until they have first confirmed that the person they are speaking with is in fact the person legally responsible to pay an unpaid account. This means that if a collector gets you on the phone, you can prevent the collector from commencing a collection call, provided you do not confirm that you are the person the collector is asking to speak with. There are several different ways you can do this.
Scenario A: ask questions but do not identify yourself. An example will help illustrate this. Let's assume that my name is John Smith and a collector from ABC Collection Agency has gotten me on the phone. The collector asks, “Are you John Smith?” I say, “Can I ask who is calling, please?” “My name is Bill Green.” “What is the name of the firm that you are calling from?” “I am calling about an important legal matter.” If you are not going to identify the name of your firm and the purpose of your call, then I am not going to speak with you.
A bill collector is not permitted to disclose the name of his employer, because that would disclose the existence of a debt. Since I have not identified myself as John Smith, the debtor, the bill collector is not legally entitled to commence the collection call.
Scenario B: deny the caller has reached the right person. This is another method for not identifying yourself as the debtor. When you answer the phone, you can answer no when asked to confirm that you are the person he or she is asking to speak with. When the collector asks you to confirm your identity, you can state that the person they are seeking is not available at the present time. This tactic essentially permits you to screen your own calls. Scenario C: inform the caller they have the wrong number. Another method for not identifying yourself as the debtor is to inform the caller that they have the wrong number.