This is Portfolio; however look up " Fair Debt Collection Practices Act". When they call again notify them that under the provisions of this act they hereby notified that they can no longer contact you by phone nor calling friends, family or business.
Then send them a certified letter saying the following:
"You and your organization must CEASE AND DESIST all attempts to collect the above debt by phone. Failure to comply with this law will result in my immediate filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and The Attorney General's office of (your state).
Any communication you may have may be sent via U.S. Postal service or other mail carrier.
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."
They will never call you again! :) Keep a copy of the letter for your records. Be sure to include at the top of the letter your name and if possible the name of the original creditor. (I ask them for their mailing address and reference #).
I am no lawyer, but, I would be very careful corresponding with a collection agency, if in fact you may have incurred this debt and failed to pay it. How you word your letter may very well restart the statute of limitations and allow for them to sue for the full amount, rather than whatever settlement amount they had been offering. IMHO, you are better off just blocking the numbers as they come up.
A lady called me from this # 412 253 4047. Asked if I was so an so. I told her there was no such person here. I filed Bankruptcy about 20 yrs ago. These companies will continue to sell your old debts that were dismissed thru a Federal Court. They try to change the dates on them.
You need to read the bill. I didn't blow this out of my [***]. Read the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. It clearly defines how to respond to debt collectors. The act was passed to stop intimidation and unscrupulous practices by collection agencies. How they behave is now regulated but only if you put them on notice. I have sent certified letters to at least 6 agencies and stopped them all in their tracks.
A small excerpt from that act........
c. Ceasing communication
If a consumer notifies a debt collector in writing that the consumer refuses to pay a debt or that the consumer wishes the debt collector to cease further communication with the consumer, the debt collector shall not communicate further with the consumer with respect to such debt, except --
Read the entire act
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemak ... ctices-act-text
They are about as dirty as it gets, Portfolio Recovery. Multiple lawsuits against them, trying to reactivate debt that does not exist. Report them, block them, put them in jail