Expert: Chris Ebert - 4/28/2010

Question
I received a call tonight from my boss telling me some guy called and said that if i didn't return this call that i was going to have a legal officer at my door at 11 am the next morning..

i called to see what it was about and found out it was from a collections company trying to get money for a payday loan that was taken out over a year ago and due to loss of employment and loss of unemployment funds i had to default on the loan ..i told him i was willing to make payment arrangements to pay and was told i have 5 min to make full payment or to fax a letter to him with my credit card info to make payment...i than declined and said i was contacing an attroney , my neighbor is an attroney and my mother in law went to law school so that was not a lie...i was then informed that i was going to be proscuted for cyber something and i was going to be picked up and taken to the court house as well as my husband and my friend i used as a refernce...how do i file harassment charges and can i? as well as isn't this illegal for them to threatn me like that i have a recorded message from them as well.

Answer
Sherri,

What they have done is against the FDCPA. They can not threaten you as they have or contact third parties about your debt.

You can make complaints to the FTC (ftc.gov), your states Attorney General's Office, Better Business Bureau (bbb.org), and acainternational.org

You may also want to contact an attorney in your area to file a lawsuit.

Chris Ebert
http://www.henleycreditlaw.com