Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Pennsylvania

You do not give me enough relevant details.

Are you or are you not the debtor? If you are not the debtor they are looking for the debt collectors are not supposed to be able to call you. They can only call once if they are trying to locate a debtor and are calling someone other than the debtor. The laws say what they say but debt collectors don't always follow the law so they may keep calling. Talking on the phone does no good. You need to write to them advising them that you are not the person they are looking for and not to bother you again. Send the letter via certified mail, return receipt requested. Or hire me or another lawyer to send the letter for you.

And I don't know what game you think you are playing by not providing name or SSN. You think the debt collectors don't have that information or cannot get it? Think again.

The proper way to handle these calls is this - find out who is calling and about what - get all the information you can including the representative's name and ask if the call is recorded. You know whether this is your debt or not. If the debt collector is looking for someone else who has the same name as you, then giving your SSN or address may be a simple way to clear this up. And as I learned with one of my own clients who was misidentified, she had the same name and the same last 4 digits of her SSN and it was only when address and complete SSN was reviewed did the creditor realize they had the wrong person. So if this is not your debt you confirm the SSN and address they have. It could also be the case of somebody else using your identity; the real debtor may even have access to your SSN (most identity theft is committed by someone you know who has access to these details about you). If this is not you or you are the victim of identity fraud, ask them to send you a fraud affidavit. Fill it out and get it notarized and send it in. You may also need to get a police report if your identity has been compromised.

If this is your debt, then ask the debt collector if they have sent you a collection letter about the debt. If the collector says no, then tell them that you have been advised of your rights under the FDCPA and PA state law by an attorney (I am doing that now). Give them your address and tell them to send you a letter and tell them that there is nothing to discuss until they send you a letter. Then hang up. You do not discuss payment arrangements or give them access to a bank account and you do not admit the debt is yours.

If the debt collector says they have sent a letter ask where it was sent and when. Ask if they will fax/email/snail mail you another copy and give them your address. If the debt collector refuses, advise that there is nothing more to discuss until you get a letter and hang up.

After you get the letter, if you have further problems, then contact me or another PA attorney for advice about what to do next. You can email me at [email protected] if you need more help.