Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested # [Insert the Certified Mail Receipt Number here]
[Insert Date of Mailing]
[Insert name of collection agent, if available]
[Insert name of collection agency]
[Insert address of collection agency]
[Insert City/State/Zip of collection agency]
REF: Account # [Insert either the original account number or the collection agency's account reference number here]
Dear [Insert name of debt collector calling--if available--here]:
1. You are hereby notified under provisions of Public Laws 104-208, also known as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, that your services are no longer desired.
2. You and your organization must CEASE & DESIST all attempts to collect the above debt. Failure to comply with this law will result in my immediately filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and the [Insert your home state here] Attorney General's office. I will pursue all criminal and civil claims against you and your company.
3. Let this letter also serve as your warning that I may utilize telephone recording devices in order to document any telephone conversations that we may have in the future.
4. Furthermore, if any negative information is placed on my credit bureau reports by your agency after receipt of this notice, this will cause me to file suit against you and your organization, both personally and corporately, to seek any and all legal remedies available to me by law.
5. Since it is my policy neither to recognize nor deal with collection agencies, I will settle this account with the original creditor.
We had a message on our answering machine from someone named Sue, looking for a neighbour that lives in our complex. She asked us to pass a message on to this neighbour to contact her regarding an urgent business matter. We did some research and found out the number belongs to CCA. We contacted her to say that we thought this was completely unethical; she stated that they did not think it is; and we asked her to remove our address and number from her files. She said she would, only time will tell. We are in the process of trying to find out where we can make a formal complaint. It is bad enough being harassed by telemarketers all the time, we do not need to be harassed by collection agencies on the behalf of someone we do not even know!
It is unethical when the collector knows perfectly well how to contact an alleged debtor, yet chooses first to hassle all the "nearbys", thus to create false shame under the guise of "skip tracing".