Owe Money? Hear Actual Debt Collectors Harass People on the Phone
— -- Consumer A: Um, my only deal is right now y'all are getting me into some really big trouble with my job.
Collector: Ma'am, you got yourself into trouble.
Consumer A: No, no, no, no. Y'all have been calling here, harassing me.
Collector: I'll tell you what: there's not harassment when you owe someone money. I'm not even going to argue with you. What I suggest...
Consumer A: I'm not arguing with you.
Listen to an audio recording of this conversation.
Collector: What I suggest you do is do what I asked you to do, or get you an attorney.
Consumer A: Well, I need you to stop calling my job.
Collector: No, I'm not. No, I'm not. I'm not going to do that.
Consumer A: I need you to stop calling my job because you're gonna get me in trouble.
Collector: You've involved your job. You gave your job number with this company. Now how do you want to deal with it?
Collector: You know what? If I ever knew someone that would just sit on the phone and lie repeatedly...I mean, that's what you're doing repeatedly, not just once. Lie to a judge.
Consumer B: So, you're telling me you'll put me in jail.
Collector: I'm gonna get a court order, and I will put you in jail for entering secure credit for vehicles in your name, ma'am.
Consumer B: OK. You're gonna put me in jail. You're gonna call me at my home with my two young children sleeping at 2:30 in the morning.
Collector: Can you quote me that penal code?
Consumer B: I don't need to quote you the penal code, sir. I am a supervisor for a finance company, and surprise! I know the law. I know the law, that's right.
Collector: OK, you know the law ... a secured creditor. Yes, ma'am, that is a felony.
Listen to an audio recording of the first part of this conversation.
Consumer B: Is it now?
Collector: Why don't you ask your attorney?
Consumer B: Is it now?
Collector: Why don't you ask your attorney?
Consumer B: Sir, by the time I get through with you, I not gonna need to make a car payment.
Collector: Get through with me? Please! Cause I'll put your f---ing ass in jail.
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Collector: They'll give you two years to pay it. If you don't pay it off in two years, 60 per night per every other dollar after that. Just saying, if you never made a payment, you just paid interest, you'd probably serve about 260 days.
Consumer C: In jail or prison or what?
Collector: Uh, jail. Then you're gonna get hurt or killed or stabbed or whatever it is within the first five years. They get, after the five years, then you're straight.
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Consumer C: You think?
Collector: Well, it's just, you're a survivor. Then obviously you know the system and know how to play the game. If you can't figure out how to play the game, you're gonna die.
Consumer D: I want you to quit harassing me at work.
Collector: Quit harassing you? I want you to pay my client. I'm harassing you by telling you to pay your bill
Consumer D: OK. Do you understand me right now? (overtalk) Do you understand me right now? Do not call me at work. Call me at home. You've called me seven times. You have called me seven times at work. And you're rude to the people that answer the phone .
Collector: Pay your bill or get off my phone. You're wasting my time because if you're not going to pay your...
Consumer D: OK. I want a statement. Give me a statement. Do you not hear me? I want a statement.
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Collector: The only statement you're going to get is from me right now.
Consumer D: No, no, I want a statement that I can look at and see what we're talking about.
Collector: It's not going to happen. They've already sent that stuff to you. They're not going to send it again ma'am. I sent you a letter like you requested.
Consumer D: Now this is what I requested the first time, Mr. ...
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Collector: (overtalk)...the money immediately. You said OK. Every time I talk to you, you change your situation.
Consumer D: What are you saying? Whatever!
Collector: Do you have my client's money?
Consumer D: No, I don't.
Collector: OK, I'll take the proper steps, and I'll work it out with your employer. I'm not going to call you no more. I'm not going to even talk to you when I call you no more. I'm going to speak with the payroll department. Do you have anything else to say?
Consumer D: If you do that, you will get me fired.
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Collector: Whatever the case may be. If you get fired, what do I care? You're not paying the bill anyway.
Consumer D: If you call there, you will get me fired, and you're telling me that you do not care.
Collector: Listen. What are you going to do to straighten out this bill?
Consumer D: Well, keeping me upset all the time is not one way to do it.
Collector: Keeping you upset, that sounds like a personal problem to me, ma'am. You are getting me upset now. Whatever you do to pay the bill? That's all I want to talk about.
Consumer D: If you call my boss, I will get fired. You understand that if you call my boss?
Consumer E: I was just concerned for this warrant for my arrest.
Collector: What the deal is, I have a court order in my hand, and if I didn't get this picked up, they were gonna go ahead and go file a legal, and at that time, if it weren't taken care of, it was supposed to be picked up by six o'clock today. But if they couldn't get it taken care of, they were going to go legal Monday morning. And that's just an automatic. They do issue a warrant for your arrest.
Listen to an audio recording of this conversation.
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Collector: I don't want to see you go to jail, Mr. ... I don't want to see you go to the big house. Do you want to go to the big house?
Consumer F: The where?
Collector: The big house. That's what they call prison in America. How long have you been here, sir?
Consumer F: Uh, five years.
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Collector: Five years?
Consumer F: Uh huh.
Collector: Yeah, it's not nice at all, sir. What are you? Are you Mexican?
Consumer F: Yes.
Collector: Oh, whoa.
Collector: That's fine then. You can bring your son some makeup when the sheriff comes to pick him up because where he's going, he's going to get a lot of use for it.
Consumer F: Well, give me your address or paper or something.
Collector: For what? We sent you a paper on Feb. 15 boy. What else do you want us to send you?
Consumer F: I don't, I don't get nothing?
Listen to an audio recording of the second part of this conversation.
Collector: That's fine. Not only are we going to turn this over to the proper authorities, but we're also going to contact immigration and naturalization services. And if you people are in this country illegally...
Consumer F: What?
Collector: You slithered over here. You slithered over the border like snakes, and now you're bouncing checks over here and creating all types of financial havoc. You're nothing but a financial terrorist.