Ceditor's Calling at work***GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

It is against the law for them to continue calling you after you ask them to stop... look in to that! (that is the law here in SC, hope it is the same for you!), good luck!!

I live in Texas and I was never able to get them to stop calling. My boss even got on the phone and told them they were putting my job in jepordy. So many calls and my work number wasn't the only number they had! They wouldn't leave a message so I had no way of knowing how to get in touch with their manager. I told them (my co-workers were kind and tried to help by doing the same thing) many times I couldn't have personal calls, They couldn't call me at work...etc. In the end, I had to file for bankrupcy. That made them stop.

Hate to say it, but they can absolutely call you at work, they can SHOW UP at your work or home if they wanted to. My BF is a collections supervisor, they make house and work calls all the time, it is not illegal for them to do this. Make a payment plan with them, even if it's less than what they want per month. As long as you are paying SOMETHING, they will back off. If you continue to hide from them, they are going to start calling your parents, your kids school, your siblings, etc... just face the music. They're only doing their job (as much as it sucks for you!)... Nikki has no idea what she's talking about, you can ask a SOLICITOR to stop calling you and they legally have to stop, but not a collector. Legally, they can contact you in any way necessary to get payment. Work out a payment plan, and I promise, you'll feel much better not hearing from them every day! Best wishes :)

You are still expected to pay that debt, even if you gave the car back. So if they are calling you, you need to pay.
If you're having issues, you can work through debt consolidators to try to reduce your payments to what you can afford.
But just because you gave the car back doesn't mean that you don't have to pay the original debt your incurred. It's not like returning a sweater. Buying a car means it's yours, no matter what, until you sell it and transfer the title.

I don't think there's anything you can do, honestly.

Even though you were upside down, there's still a balance you owe them, and they have the right to try to collect on it despite it having been sold.

Filing bankruptcy will eliminate your debt, but it will ruin your credit and haunt you for the next 7 years. I had to spend a year out of college because the last recession hit my dad's business really hard, and my parents went into a lot of debt just to keep the house, pay bills, etc. I worked 3 jobs the year I was out of school, and I'd come home to find subpoena's on the door of the house from creditors.

My dad has a PhD, so finding a "temporary" job wasn't easy. He called each creditor and explained the situation. He made arrangements and paid off all his debt within 2 years without it killing his credit.

But, the world is different now, and creditors are less forgiving in the current economy. Your best bet may be to contact your State Attorney General's office to see what your rights are and if their calls are considered harassment.

Good luck.

I agree with Denise, you need to start paying them at least a little bit each week or month. If you at least make an effort, I would think most of the calls would stop b/c you are at least paying towards your debt. Additionally, probably a second number would help a little, but now that they already have your work number, I don't think they'll stop calling it. Talking to your boss is tricky b/c you don't really want that kind of info floating around and your boss could get upset that you're dealing with personal issues on work time, so I don't really know about that. Pay it off as soon as possible, you really don't want that following you around!

I think the morally correct answer is that you are still responsible for paying the difference between what you owed on your loan and what they were able to sell it for. I can understand that you couldn't afford the payments and if your only option was to return the car, that's fine, but it doesn't mean you can just wash your hands of it. You should try to work with them to make arrangements to pay SOME amount each month on the remainder of the loan until it is paid off. I'm sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear, but if you take a loan out for a car, you are responsible to pay for it. The loan amount is surely smaller than it was since they were able to sell the car and get something for it. My advice would be to work with them as best you can and pay what you can. Walking away is simply not the right thing to do.

Hi J., I had the same problem, so I got a Prepaid Legal Policy, they advice me on what to do, sent letters to my creditors to stop the calls, and I had no out of pocket cost because i pay 32 a month and can call an Attourney anytime day or night and Holidays, with out the 300 an hour just for advice. No more calls coming in and a bounus, they are now willing to work with me where they were not before. One more story if I may, my mother died 5 years ago, before she died she a lot of unpaid credit card dept. Calls starting coming to my dad at age 82 telling him he had to pay them 13,000 because in Calif the law is that a spouse is responsible for their spouse's dept, this guy called my dad every day, sometimes more than once, they threaten to take his pension, his retirement even his home that he lived in for at the time almost 50 years, it started affecting is health, he called us about it, my husband went over got him a policy, they sent a letter telling this collection agency that he was not going to pay anything, and to stop the calls or furture action would be taken, and the calls stopped and a week later my dad received a letter from the collection agency stating the account was closed. Their job is to preasure you, but when it becomes harrasment, you have rights, but those rights only help you if you know what they are. J. L

Well, if you owe them, you need to pay them......even if you give them 40.00 a month..........tell them you can't afford it......and work with them to find out how little you can pay them to get this taken care of .......... the only other thing is to file bankruptcy and these days, even that doesn't get you out of paying..........

You took on the responsibility and you are going to have to make it right. With the economy the way it is, I'm sure you can work something out for you both to be happy with.........

Good luck and I hope things get better........

I know there are laws about when and where debt collectors are allowed to call you. Since your work number is the only one they have, the next time they call simply state "I'm not allowed to receive personal calls at work, if you continue to call me I'll loose my job and will not be able to make payments. Please give me a number where I can call you after work" or "I'm not allowed to receive personal calls at work, please contact me in writing. My address is..."

I don't think they are being harrassing (of course, I can't hear the conversation) since this is the only number they have. It's their job to collect the money that you owe, and as long as they are within their legal rights they will continue to do so. What is it that they don't understand? I must be from another planet too, because I don't understand either.

You've had a year to deal with this. What would you do if someone owed you money for over a year? The only way to prevent this is to talk to them, or better yet send them a letter, and set up a payment plan. As long as you establish a plan, and stick to it, they won't call you.

Google "cease and desist" letter. They have them for different reasons - you should be able to modify it for your use. Basically the letter states they can no longer contact you regarding this debt. You can allow them to send you letters, just no longer call you. It's all in how you word the letter. You don't have to have a lawyer send it, you can do this yourself. Send a letter signature required and get proof it was received. Keep a copy of the letter.

I worked in debt collection for over 7 years. I repo'ed cars. I was a skip tracer that found people who hid, moved, took cars of people that had passed away.. you name it.

Just to warn you - if the debt is large enough the can pursue legal action over it. Depending on your state laws regarding debt they can be allowed to put a lien on your property or other actions. I would allow them to continue sending you letters so you know before anything goes to court. Letters are the best way to take correspondence because no company with any intelligence will put something in writing that isn't true.

Also, consider getting a free phone number from Google Voice. If you have any friends that can send you an invite -- you could then use that free number for bill collectors. Plus you can screen your calls.

I know you're an adult and you realize you owe that money. They aren't wrong to want what is theirs. The collectors are just doing their job, and it's not their fault you can't pay. They didn't make you buy that car, they didn't cause you to no longer be able to afford it. When you get angry - try to remember this isn't their fault. It's okay to be mad at the situation, but don't blame them. I found that customers that treated me like a human being got a LOT more consideration. You do owe that money, and I hope you plan on paying it.

You can ask a co-worker or your boss to say to them "I'm sorry J. is and employee here and this being a place of business as the owner/manager I must please ask you to stop calling here" Now you really should give them a secondary number, other wise they take your case to the next step. They will sue you for the balance. I also had to give up a car and I still have to pay my balance, unless you file for Bankruptcy. I pay 70 a month with 0 interest.

You have got a lot of great responses so far... I just want to add that you should really look at trying to make a modified payment with them over the existing debt... even if it is only like $25/month. After doing what most say about getting them to stop and creating a payment program with them over the existing debt, they should leave you alone afterward. Honestly, I am surprised it hasn't gone to litigation yet and it's only with creditors. That would be another reason to settle with them on this... they could end up suing you and you'll pay that along with lawyer fees. Just a thought.

For Catherine, she still has existing debt left over the car since she was completely upside down on it. She still owes that remaining balance on the vehicle. One cannot just turn in a car to release all responsibilities... if there is a remaining balance, the bank/collections/whoever will want that money back. The security is the car, but if the car is upside down (which most are when purchased new, don't forget the whole "lose money once driven off the lot" saying) she still owes that remainder. Just like any other major loan purchases, i.e. houses (short sales/foreclosures). The reason I know this is because a bank is after one of my friends over her grandmother's upside down house. She is being sued by the bank over the remainder that they could not get from a sale. Ugh. They won't get anything since she is not a cosigner or did not benefit in anyway after her grandmother passed away.

J. - I feel for you!! I have been in your shoes more times than I care to admit.
First, it is not harassing. You have stated that the only contact number they have for you is your work number. Give them your home number. Usually though, when you sign for a loan, you have to give them your number and the number of family and friends. (I had to do that when I bought my car) When I was unable to pay for my car anymore the collection agency started calling my friends and family! Talk about embarassing. I got on the phone with them, on accident, when they called my parents home. I told them I had no money, was living with my parents again to save money to move out, it was Christmas...I had two young children. They told me to skip Christmas and pay off my debt! The nerve. So, I made a plan. I could afford $50 a month to pay off the $3-4,000 that I owed. I paid the first $50 and have not heard from them since. I still have an automatic $50 taken out every month and it has been that way for almost 2 1/2 years. They have NEVER called me again. Phew.
So I agree with almost everyone else. Set up a plan. pay what little you can. Give them an alternate phone number and address where they can contact you. Once you start some payment they will usually leave you alone.
L.

Do you actually still owe some amount for this past car? If so then you HAVE to pay that amount, you can arrange a payment plan say this is what I can afford monthly and then actaully pay it (that best way to get the calls to stop if you actually owe money!). As someone mentioned below ask the collection company to MAIL written documents instead of calling you so you can get this worked out... also ask for a number to call when you are not at work. You can not just tell them to stop if you owe money, they are just doing their job.

Did the car dealer repossessed the car, did you sell it back to them (which means there might still be something you owe since no new car is bought back at the same amount to was originally purchased for), do you actually still owe them money? My guess it is not the full amount, find ALL the paperwork you have to see how much you still owe, if you do not have the paperwork it will be harder to figure it out so go the the dealer ask for another copy of the paperwork.

If you do not owe money then there was poor communication along the way somewhere, you have to get it figured out. Paperwork of selling it back to the dealer or whatever is the best place to start and even calling the dealer.

A collection company has the right to call you and if they only have your work phone number then that is the only way to get in contact then YES they can call you on that. If they are doing it numerous times a day and depending on what they say to you then it can be harassment BUT you can not just avoid paying something you owe. So best you figure out a payment plan and pay it.. or if you do not owe prove it with paperwork and talking with the dealer to help clear it up.

I don't see why you owe anything anyway, actually. A car loan is a secured loan (they loan you money and the security is the car itself, which they now have back). I'd call a lawyer about this. You can usually get a free consultation.

I know what you mean about those calls - I just got a new cell phone, and the previous owner of my phone number apparently had several accounts in collections. I get calls 24/7 from this person's creditors, even though I've told them repeatedly that this is MY work cell phone, and the person they're looking for is not at this number anymore. It's enough to drive me crazy, so I sympathize with you. I hope you can find a solution.

Give them another number to call and take care of your responsibilities. Sometimes you just have to pray and god will provide.

When you annswer your phone from now on say "may i ask who's calling please" then when they answer say "I'm sorry shes not here" It may be a little white lie but they are harrasing you.

If you tell them your boss will not allow you to take personal calls at work they must stop calling you at that number legally. If they want another phone number then tell them to contact you by mail only. Please review http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre18.shtm

I agree with Mama H.

Just tell them that you can't take personal calls and they have to contact you through the mail. They don't want to see you fired because then they'll never get their money, but you do have to pay off the debt.

M.