Debt collectors often contact friends and/or family members of the person who actually owes the debt, and this is called “third party contact”. Third party contacting is done in an effort to obtain contact information for the person who owes the debt (called the debtor), to use the friend/family member to help them get the debtor to pay, or even sometimes in an effort to get the friend/family member to pay the debt themselves! Both you, as the “third party”, and the debtor may be able to sue the debt collector.
If the debt collector informs you as the third party that the person they are trying to contact owes a debt, that is a violation and the debtor can sue for monetary relief and a court order to stop the calls!
If the debt collector is contacting you as the third party in an effort to obtain contact information for the debtor, and we can prove they already have that person’s contact information, that is a violation and you can sue for monetary relief and a court order to stop the calls!
If the debt collector fails to inform you as the third party that they are a debt collector attempting to collect a debt, that is a violation and you can sue for monetary relief and a court order to stop the calls!
If the debt collector yells, curses, or uses any other threatening/harassing language in talking to you as the third party, that is a violation and you can sue for monetary relief and a court order to stop the calls!
If the debt collector is contacting you as a third party more than once, regardless of whether you gave them the information they requested and regardless of whether they simply left a message on your voicemail, that is a violation and you can sue for monetary relief and a court order to stop the calls!
If you are being contacted by debt collectors for someone else who owes the debt, both you and the actual debtor should contact us immediately to discuss your options. You may be entitled to monetary damages and a court order to stop the calls at no cost to you.
