Do I need legal advice?

[Bostondevil]

I still have a land line. I do not want to get rid of my land line because I don't want anybody but friends to have my cell phone number. I do business on the land line.

But. The guy who had my land line phone number before me left some unpaid medical bills. I know this and I know his name because I've been getting calls from debt collection agencies ever since I first got the phone number - in July, 2004. Yes, I've decided 13 1/2 years of debt collection phone calls for someone who isn't me is enough. I have called and explained to more than one collection agency (I think the debt got sold) that I am not the person they are looking for nor do I know where the person they are looking for can be located. I've finally decided that I've had enough and I want the phone calls to stop. What should I do - sue the collection agency?

[fuse]

I am answering a different question than the one you asked.

Get Google voice, or equivalent tech if you don’t like Google.

It will allow you to abstract your cellphone number if you don’t want to share it, and also allow you to get rid of or change your landline number.

Don’t port your landline number to google voice if your purpose is getting rid of harrassing calls.

[camion]

I can't improve on the answer given, but I do have a story like yours, but with a twist.

Back in the early 2000's when I had a land line I started getting calls from collection agencies asking for someone. I began by telling them that no one by that name lived at my address and after several calls I began telling them the person hadn't lived at my address for 25 years (I knew because I'd owned the house that long. I told them to look it up in the phone book. They didn't stop; the calls kept coming.

Finally I looked myself up in the phone book and found that there were two streets in my town about 3 miles apart with my address that differed only in the zip code. The other zip code was at a trailer park. So mystery solved. But there's more. The phone book, (Bell South) had me at the wrong zip code. To all the world it appeared I lived in the trailer park. I called Bell South and asked them to correct their error. They informed me that they couldn't change the address until the new phone book was printed in eight months or so. At that point I switched from Bell South to Vonage for my "land Line" and Vonage listed my correct address immediately. The calls stopped.

[rasputin]

I still have a land line. I do not want to get rid of my land line because I don't want anybody but friends to have my cell phone number. I do business on the land line.

But. The guy who had my land line phone number before me left some unpaid medical bills. I know this and I know his name because I've been getting calls from debt collection agencies ever since I first got the phone number - in July, 2004. Yes, I've decided 13 1/2 years of debt collection phone calls for someone who isn't me is enough. I have called and explained to more than one collection agency (I think the debt got sold) that I am not the person they are looking for nor do I know where the person they are looking for can be located. I've finally decided that I've had enough and I want the phone calls to stop. What should I do - sue the collection agency?

I'm not a debt collection lawyer, and I'm not licensed anywhere but Missouri, but there is a federal statute that governs what debt collectors can and can't do, and I think it includes a provision that if they violate the law, you can recover money from them even if you aren't out of pocket for it. I would certainly hope that after you have given a particular debt collector notice that you aren't the droids they are looking for, they would back off.

[fuse]

This situation reminded me of a story I read in early December:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/featu...th-a-vengeance

Some aspects of the above article could be considered NSFW.

[hurleyfor3]

You people are hopeless. Here's what to do.

Answer the phone. When the caller identifies as a debt collector, say, "I'm recording this call," whether you are or not. (Massachusetts is a two-party state.) He may hang up right there. Anyway, tell them the following things:

* The statute of limitations in Massachusetts is six years for all debts;
* You find all phone calls inconvenient and harassing;
* You are in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for harassing people you know are not the debtor and for attempting to collect out-of-statute debt.

Then ask for a company name and mailing address, the amount of debt claimed and an account number. To this address, send a letter certified mail, return receipt requested (CMRRR, costs about $6). The content of the letter should be something like:

Dear Jerkface:

This is in response to your account #8675309, in which you claim a debt of $103.73, and contacted me by telephone regarding it on April 1, 2018.

You have my phone number due to an error in your records. I am not the person who owes this debt to you, and I have never known such person. In addition, you are attempting to collect a debt outside Massachusetts' statute of limitations, which is six years.

Note you have repeatedly violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by harassing me and attempting to collect out of service debt. If you continue, I will sue.

I find all phone calls inconvenient and harassing. You may no longer contact me by telephone or any other means.

Consider this notice a refusal to pay.

Love,

Bostondevil


DO NOT SIGN IT with your normal signature. Leave it unsigned or sign it "X".

Google "FOAD letter".

You're welcome.

[moonpie23]

a friend of mine started getting some calls like this. She responded in very sloooooooow speech with non-specific statements. when the guy tried to get kind of "tough" on her, she started asking him very pertinent questions about various soap opera plots. like, "so, do you really think she's pregnant with X's child, or has she started seeing Y again...

each time the guy tried to bully her up, she moved on to another soap opera. never losing her temper, or raising her voice...


the calls stopped...

[Bostondevil]

You people are hopeless. Here's what to do.

Answer the phone. When the caller identifies as a debt collector, say, "I'm recording this call," whether you are or not. (Massachusetts is a two-party state.) He may hang up right there. Anyway, tell them the following things:

* The statute of limitations in Massachusetts is six years for all debts;
* You find all phone calls inconvenient and harassing;
* You are in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for harassing people you know are not the debtor and for attempting to collect out-of-statute debt.

Then ask for a company name and mailing address, the amount of debt claimed and an account number. To this address, send a letter certified mail, return receipt requested (CMRRR, costs about $6). The content of the letter should be something like:

Dear Jerkface:

This is in response to your account #8675309, in which you claim a debt of $103.73, and contacted me by telephone regarding it on April 1, 2018.

You have my phone number due to an error in your records. I am not the person who owes this debt to you, and I have never known such person. In addition, you are attempting to collect a debt outside Massachusetts' statute of limitations, which is six years.

Note you have repeatedly violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by harassing me and attempting to collect out of service debt. If you continue, I will sue.

I find all phone calls inconvenient and harassing. You may no longer contact me by telephone or any other means.

Consider this notice a refusal to pay.

Love,

Bostondevil


DO NOT SIGN IT with your normal signature. Leave it unsigned or sign it "X".

Google "FOAD letter".

You're welcome.

Thank you. Especially for that information about the debt statute of limitations. For all I know, the guy who incurred the debt could be dead.

[PackMan97]

As previously said, you need to send them a FOAD letter and then if they persist, sue them in court (should be able to self represent).

I've had this problem briefly with a debt one of my parents had (awkward), but if you know the law and throw their #$^! back at them, they run away real quick.

disclaimer: this is not legal advice. I am not a lawyer. I did not sleep at a Holiday Inn express last night.

[BD80]

Pull a Brady and destroy all of your cell phones ...

[Bostondevil]

Pull a Brady and destroy all of your cell phones ...

Sigh. Dude, read.

[jimsumner]

Sigh. Dude, read.

What's a land line, daddy?

[cato]

You people are hopeless.
. . .

Dear Jerkface:

. . .

You're welcome.

Thank you?

[left_hook_lacey]

Didn't want to start a new thread but I need some legal advice on a petty manner and I'm not sure I want to go trying to find a small claims court lawyer just yet. Figured I'd scour the minds of the legal eagles on DBR first. Please read and let me know what you would do if you were me.

I recently bought a new house in a new neighborhood in a new town about 40 miles from our previous address. We finished moving in a couple of weeks ago, but we've been slowly bringing stuff to the new house that we had in storage as wee needed it/made room for it. I've been using my 5 x 10 utility trailer to do this and also to haul off all the cardboard boxes and trash that is generated from moving. We were using this trailer daily and it was always parked either in the street in front of our house, backed into our driveway, or backed up to the gate to our backyard. But always being used, back and forth between locations and between vehicles.

Thursday the 17th, I left to go to work. I was parallel parked in front of our house with the trailer attached to the truck. I disconnected the trailer and left it parked where it was. It was loaded with broken down moving boxes and new TV boxes, etc. Strapped down with tie straps ready to go so I could take it to off as soon as I got home from work that afternoon. These were brand new moving boxes, big screen TV boxes etc. neatly stacked and strapped down. It did not look like a load of trash that had been there for a long period of time.

Got home from work, trailer was gone. Assumed it had been stolen. Spoke to our HOA manager and let her know so the neighborhood would know there were prowlers in the area. She suggested to call the police just to make sure it hadn't been towed away and to report it(which was I about to do anyway).

I called the police station and they said they had no record of it in their system.

I called back on the Friday 18th twice, once in the morning and once in the evening, still said they have no record of it. I asked if there was any other department I should check with, city utilities, a tow service they use, anything? They said no, if it was towed by them they would know.

Fast forward to Monday the 21st, our neighbor sees us in the drive way unloading some boxes out of the back of the suburban into the garage. She walks over and says, "I couldn't help but notice you don't have your trailer anymore. Did you store it somewhere?" I said no, it was stolen last Thursday. She said, "I was wondering, because I saw a city cop car pulled in your driveway, and a tow truck back up to it last week. I was wondering if they were having it towed. I think they have it, I don't think it was stolen."

So I called the police station back and asked again. They said they didn't have anything towed from my address. I asked, "Are you sure, because my neighbor says she saw a city cop in my driveway, and a tow truck back up to my trailer as if they were towing it last Thursday, the day it went missing."

"Oh, yes, here it is."

I asked why it was towed. She said she can't give that out, that I'd have to come down and prove ownership to get it back. We were never given a citation, ticket, warning of any kind that it was illegally parked or anything. They just towed it.

The next day on my lunch break, I went down to the police station, filled out all the necessary paper work and got the tow service impound release slip. The office on duty marked it as being towed because it was "abandoned vehicle". I have searched through every city and residential parking ordinance and articles for this new town and I cannot find one instance of anything that they could consider that trailer as an "abandoned vehicle".

It is obvious to all our neighbors we were moving in, and that the trailer was being used on a daily basis. It was not abandoned in any sense of the word or in their own ordinances.

So I called the tow service today, and it's $125 tow charge plus $25/day storage fee for a total of $325 to get it out. I refuse to pay it. I can't find any reason in the ordinances that would allow them to tow it in the first place.

So, the ordinance says that to appeal an impounded vehicle to write to the city manager by mail within 7 days of the notice. We never received a notice and the police initially denied that they had towed it. If it wasn't for our neighbor we would have never had any proof that the police had it and it would have sat in the impound until 30 days was up, at which point they would've auctioned it off.

So, do I pay the money and get it out so the bill doesn't keep going up and hire a lawyer?

Do I leave it in, and write the appeal letter to the city manager and hope that she just "releases" it?


The worst part about all of this is I need it badly this weekend.

[Jeffrey]

Today, I would call the City Manager and explain your situation. If that does not work, I would get placed on the next City Council's meeting agenda and explain your situation. Elected officials are usually reasonable in public meetings viewed by their voters. I doubt the City Manager will want your going to the City Council meeting referencing the City Manager's refusal decision.

[PackMan97]

Yes, the situation sucks and is no fun. Just a quick question before you get more involved...

Is $325 (or whatever) worth the fight? Will you sleep better at night just paying to get your trailer back and moving on?

[Acymetric]

Yes, the situation sucks and is no fun. Just a quick question before you get more involved...

Is $325 (or whatever) worth the fight? Will you sleep better at night just paying to get your trailer back and moving on?

One other question (which I don't think any of us has an answer for based on the information given): will it happen again and if so how can it be prevented.

My guess is just paying to get the trailer back and having it for the weekend where it is needed is probably worth the money, but what is to stop it from being towed again on Monday and starting the whole thing over?

Also, I don't want to poison your view of your new neighbors, but it sure seems awfully likely to me that one of the neighbors requested that it be towed. I would be really surprised if the police just decided to tow it themselves, especially given the short amount of time it was there (do police frequently pass by your street)? Just something else to consider.

[DukieInKansas]

One other question (which I don't think any of us has an answer for based on the information given): will it happen again and if so how can it be prevented.

My guess is just paying to get the trailer back and having it for the weekend where it is needed is probably worth the money, but what is to stop it from being towed again on Monday and starting the whole thing over?

Also, I don't want to poison your view of your new neighbors, but it sure seems awfully likely to me that one of the neighbors requested that it be towed. I would be really surprised if the police just decided to tow it themselves, especially given the short amount of time it was there (do police frequently pass by your street)? Just something else to consider.

I'll be really cynical - is the cop a neighbor and how is the cop related to the tow truck/impound lot people?

[Acymetric]

I'll be really cynical - is the cop a neighbor and how is the cop related to the tow truck/impound lot people?

Too cynical! Let's just start from the assumption that someone asked the police to tow the trailer and we can expand the trailer conspiracy as additional information comes in. (And I'm a cynic!)

[gus]

Today, I would call the City Manager and explain your situation. If that does not work, I would get placed on the next City Council's meeting agenda and explain your situation. Elected officials are usually reasonable in public meetings viewed by their voters. I doubt the City Manager will want your going to the City Council meeting referencing the City Manager's refusal decision.

This is certainly a better course of action then the one I tried in a similar situation: checkbook in hand, point blank asking the city official "Do I make this out the the parking authority, or directly to the Mayor Russo vacation fund?"