HOW TO FIGHT BACK AGAINST ILLEGAL VOICEMAILS FROM DEBT COLLECTORS BY MAKING THEM PAY FOR BREAKING THE LAW

You are here because you are dealing with the problem of debt collection voicemails.

You are not alone – Alabama consumers are facing an explosion of debt collection activity and in large part this consists of calls from debt collectors.  The volume of collection calls is staggering and overwhelming.  The result is that collectors are leaving record number of voicemails and messages on answering machines.  Is there a way to stop these?

Yes.  When the voicemail messages are illegal, you have the right to sue under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which is a federal law passed thirty years ago by Congress to help stop abusive debt collection practices.

Stan Herring and I (John Watts) have created this website to help educate consumers in Alabama about the problem of illegal voicemails and to make available our free special report on “How To Make Debt Collectors Pay For Illegal Voicemails”.  Our two lawfirms in Birmingham, Alabama, file numerous lawsuits against abusive debt collectors for leaving illegal voicemails so we welcome you on this journey with us in exploring collection voicemails.

You can request our report for free by filling out this form:

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Let’s jump right into this subject.

CAN VOICEMAILS FROM COLLECTORS BE ILLEGAL?

Yes.  Voicemails are communications from debt collectors.  Debt collectors are regulated by both Alabama and Federal law.  The reason Congress passed the FDCPA is because debt collectors were so out of control that the Federal government felt compelled to step in.

The reason the government stepped in is that abusive collectors were harassing, threatening, intimidating, lying, and otherwise treating consumers with a complete lack of respect and dignity.  This resulted in breakup of marriages, loss of homes, and invasions of privacy.

Voicemails fit into this because an abusive debt collector that carefully chooses his words when leaving a voicemail can bring absolute havoc into a family’s life.  See what you think when you read some examples below or when you think of the voicemails that you have been receiving.

IS IT REALLY A BIG DEAL OR IS THIS A TECHNICALITY?

Think of it this way.  If a collector will knowlingly leave an illegal voicemail, then you are dealing with a very abusive agency.  An agency so arrogant that it wants the abusive message recorded!  So sure that it is above the law and that you mean nothing that it is willing to have its illegal conduct documented – not a “he said she said” but the actual words of the agency recorded.  If an agency will break the law in this way, imagine the type of abuse it will bring down on you when it gets you on the phone.  Imagine the type of bogus lawsuit it will file against you if you don’t give in to the illegal conduct and pay.  (If you are facing a lawsuit from a collection agency, you are welcome to request our free report “Five Secrets Debt Buyers Don’t Want You To Know About” which covers these often bogus lawsuits).

So, a mere technicality like the lawyers who defend these lawbreakers say?  Or are the voicemails a window into the mind and soul of these collectors to show you whether they are honorable or whether they are lawbreakers who will do anything to take your money?  We’ll let you come to your own conclusion.

WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF ILLEGAL VOICEMAILS?

We have one client who faced a collector who said he would (and he did) call the client’s boss every single day and tell the boss (by voicemail) what a horrible person the client was and how she didn’t pay her bills.  We’ve had clients who have been left messages that tell them that the collector will collect the debt “by any means necessary” and that if the consumers have to “rip the money out of their children’s mouth” – in other words not feed their kids – then the consumer needed to do that.  Consumers have been threatened with going to prison.  Collectors have threatened consumers with being raped in prison with the only way to avoid this fate is to “pay the bill.”

When consumers have a Hispanic name, collectors will leave messages saying they are calling the authorities to have the consumer deported from America.  Consumers have been threatened with physical violence from collectors.  One consumer was told that she should become a prostitute – “earn the money on your back” while others have been told to pimp out their daughters.

Other collectors will leave a message that makes it sound like the collector has a prize or an inheritance for the consumer in order to trick the consumer into calling.  Consumers face profanity filled messages.  Collectors refuse to follow even the most basic of requirements – leaving the “Mini-Miranda” warning to alert consumers they are dealing with a debt collector.  The list goes on and on.

A big deal?  We think so.

BUT IF I OWE MONEY TO THE COLLECTOR, CAN’T THEY LEAVE ANY VOICEMAIL MESSAGE THEY WANT?

Remember that the FDCPA law was passed to stop abusive debt collectors from breaking the law.  The law assumes that you do owe the debt.  If you owe the debt then you are legally responsible for it and you should pay it.

But owing a debt does not wipe out the FDCPA or Alabama state law.  The collectors must still follow the law.

Often defense lawyers will tell us that because our clients might owe the debt that this excuses their client’s law breaking activities.  When sometimes will ask this question to see if the defense lawyer really believes this or is just repeating the propaganda from the collection industry excutives:

Since our client owes the money would it be legal for the collector to kick down the door to our client’s house and put a gun to the head of his kid  to collect the debt?

Almost every defense lawyer we have asked has refused to answer the question.

This gives you insight into these abusive agencies, doesn’t it?

So, just because we owe a debt, does that mean the illegal voicemails have become proper and legal?  Not hardly my friends….  But we are often asked if there is really anything that can be done about abusive collectors who violate the law in this manner?

IS THERE REALLY A WAY TO STOP COLLECTORS FROM LEAVING THESE ILLEGAL VOICEMAILS?

There are several ways to stop collectors from leaving illegal voicemails.  You can:

  • Unplug your answering machine or disconnect your voicemail;
  • Change your phone number;
  • Send a “cease and desist” letter;
  • Ask the collector to stop breaking the law and start following the law that the collector has been trained on extensively; or
  • Learn how to document the illegal conduct and find a consumer lawyer that can file suit against the law breakers.

Let’s think about these options:

  • Should you really have to give up voicemail because of lawbreakers?
  • Should you have to constantly change your numbers to keep these abusive debt collectors from violating the law?
  • If they knowlingly leave illegal voicemails – do you think they are going to care about your “cute letter” demanding that they not call you?
  • Will you be able to better explain the law to a professional debt collector who knows what the law is and chooses, in a calculated way, to break the law?
  • How do you learn how to document the law breaker’s conduct and find a lawyer who can advise you whether or not suit should be filed?

Our free report is devoted to this last item.  Fill out this report (or call us at 205-879-2447) and we will email you the report right away:

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IF I WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW TO RECOGNIZE ILLEGAL VOICEMAILS AND HOW TO STOP COLLECTORS FROM BREAKING THE LAW, WHAT DO I NEED TO DO RIGHT NOW?

You have options:

  • You can contact another attorney and request information from him or her;
  • You can continue searching the internet for information and look at lawyers’ websites;
  • You can request our free report by filling out the form above; or
  • You can call us (205-879-2447) to set up a free consultation but we will want you to read this report before the meeting so that you will have a good understanding of the law and your rights before we meet.  This way we can focus our meeting on exactly what happened to you and we can help you discover the best option for you.

We wish the best of success and look forward to hearing from you if you want to stop the debt collectors in your life from continuing to break the law by leaving illegal voicemails on your phone.

Sincerely,

John Watts and Stan Herring

Watts Law Group, PC
M. Stan Herring, PC
301 19th Street North
Birmingham, Alabama 35203
205-879-2447 (Watts Law Group, PC)
205-714-4443 (M. Stan Herring, PC)

Required Alabama Bar Disclaimer – “No representation is made that the quality of legal services to be performed is is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.”