
Debt Collectors Stalking, Publicly Shaming People Through Facebook - bjonathan
http://www.wtsp.com/news/mostpop/story.aspx?storyid=156762
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patio11
The most straightforward reading of this, which is that they had her contact
information but spoke to family members anyway, is a pretty clear violation of
the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Leaving twenty messages per day is
also a violation, though debtors have been known to _ahem_ exaggerate that
one.

That they used Facebook is irrelevant -- calling the sister, emailing the
sister, or sending the sister messages via carrier pigeons are all equally
illegal. And if they were stupid enough to post a message on her wall about
it, which I doubt, statutory damages would hit six figures very, very quickly.
($1,000 for every Facebook friend who is not your spouse.)

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wccrawford
Notice that nowhere does it say -what- the debt collectors said. It only says
they contacted family and friends.

They do that to try to get in direct contact by tricking the family and
friends into giving better contact info.

Yes, debt collectors are rude and often unethical... But I have little pity
for people who try to avoid them. The problem is not the debt, but the
avoidance of it.

