NCO Financial still called me after filing chapter 7 bankruptcy. Who should i complain to?
I filed chapter 7 bankruptcy protection on April 20, 2010. Every single creditor was notified of the filing, including the creditor being represented by NCO financial. Despite this NCO financial engaged in very harassing and nasty behavior. When I did not pick up the phone, they never left any message and hung up. They used different phone number each time to do that. When I called them back, I kept getting a message, "Please hold. All our lines are very busy". I kept holding for almost 20 minutes and this same message was repeated.
I hung up. Then i called back again and was put on hold for a very long time. A rude man came on the line saying I have to pay 0 immediately and it must be resolved right now. I said I filed chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. He said he needed proof that I filed it and will not go by my word, so I must pay. I hung up.
Then 20 minutes later another call from NCO financial came where they left no message. By now I found my bankruptcy case number. I called them back and was again put for a long hold. Then i told the agent (this time it was another rude man) i filed chapter 7 and have case number too.
After telling him the case number he responded, "we still have to verify this. its not enough. what is the phone number and address of your lawyer?" I gave them the address and phone number of my lawyer. Then he asked, "what is the zip code of the office". I said, "i’m sorry I can’t recall the zip code but you can check it on google"
He then said, "you are not complying and we will call again". By then I hung up the phone being fed up.
he made zip code a big issue. This was cruel on his part.
Inform your lawyer that NCO is calling you repeatedly. Let him send them the lettter. Don’t talk to them.
Since you filed April 20, it could be that they have not received the actual notification of the bankruptcy or have not input that notification into their system. It’s only been 20 calendar days.
May 17th, 2010 at 2:14 amSend (and fax) NCO a letter via Certified Mail + Return Receipt (do NOT use regular mail) stating:
Per the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, cease all communications with me about this debt which has been legally discharged through Chapter 7. The debt is no longer legally collectible per federal bankruptcy law. Receipt of this letter is officially being time stamped via Certified Mail. I will pursue each subsequent phone call from your office with a $1,000 per incident penalty for Fair Debt Collection Practices Act violations
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To speed things up, fax this same letter to the collection agency. Free fax service at: http://www.myfax.com/free/
If they keep calling…next time they call, read the following statement:
Pursuant to state law, be advised that this phone call is being recorded. If you do not consent to being recorded, you need to terminate this call. Continuation of this phone call after officially being informed that it is being recorded implies consent to be recorded. This recording will be used to pursue Fair Debt Collection Practices Act violations.
May 17th, 2010 at 2:14 am—————
If they still won’t stop…complain with the FTC and attorney general of PA (where they are located)…if this fails too, your only recourse is to hire an attorney and sue for FDCPA violations.