?

Under the TCPA, a consumer has a right to file a lawsuit and recover $500 for each call that violates the TCPA. The TCPA can also be used in conjunction with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act in some situations.  

Generally, the TCPA does not apply to debt collectors making collection calls to debtors. However, if you are subjected to calls from a debt collector and you are not the debtor, you may file a lawsuit against the debt collector under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the TCPA.

This right was recently recognized by Judge Legrome D. Davis in a case called Watson v. NCO Group, Inc.  NCO Group is a debt collector that uses automated prerecorded collection calls.  In this case, Mr. Watson alleged he was getting hundreds of calls from NCO Group after he got a new phone number. Mr. Watson claimed he owed no debt to NCO Group, Inc.  Mr. Watson filed suit under both the FDCPA and TCPA.

David Israel, defense lawyer for NCO, argued that the TCPA should not apply to debt collectors.  Judge Davis rejected the argument made by David Israel. The judge ruled that Mr. Watson had a right to sue NCO Group Inc under the TCPA for $500 for each call.  Judge Davis wrote;

[The] Court is convinced that a non-debtor's rights are in fact violated when he is subjected to repeated annoying and abusive debt collection calls that he remains powerless to stop.

Judge Davis' ruling was based upon his interpretation that collection calls to non-debtors violate the privacy rights provided by the TCPA.  

So what can you do if you receive "wrong number" calls from debt collectors?

1. Sign up for the Do-Not-Call registry.

2. Save the calls captured by your voice mail or answering machine.

3. Contact a consumer lawyer.

It is not unlikely that you may receive calls from debt collectors even when you are not a debtor.  More and more frequently, debt collectors are using automated dialer and recorded message players (ADRMPs).  The increased use of ADRMPs means that folks who get a new phone number, formerly  held by a person with debts, may be subjected to hundreds of automated collection calls. For more information on this emerging collection practice, check out Jessica M. Gulash's Note "The Use of Auto-Dialers and Pre-Recorded Messages by Debt Collectors" in the Journal of Technology Law & Policy.

Even if you are a debtor, you may be able to sue a debt collector under the FDCPA for using an ADRMP. As detailed by Ms. Gulash, many courts are recognizing that use of ADRMPs can violate the FDCPA.

http://consumerlawyer.typepad.com/blog/2008/02/the-do-not-call.html

They called at 8:30 this morning, with the caller ID showing 877-833-2456 as their ID. They are an annoying collection agency, who are looking for someone with the same name as my father's, yet was born 3 years after me (and there's no one else in my family with the same name as my father), lives in an entirely different city as us (and the area code they're claiming is ours has not been our area code for 20 years). We've told them repeatedly that my father isn't who they are looking for, then they claim that they're putting it in their notes and won't bother us again, and then they'll call back again in a few days.

No idea why they are calling and no messages. It is getting old.

Constantly calling my number (that I've had for over 8 years) asking for another person and will not take my number off the list of calls even though they say they are dialing incorrectly.  

Annoying.

west asset management a debt collector