What can be done when debt collectors call at work?
Note to Readers: Today marks the start of a column that will appear Fridays in the Business Section. The columns are provided by J.J. Keller & Associates Inc., a nationally recognized compliance resource company.
••• In recent years, some debt collection agencies have become more aggressive in their attempts to collect payment from consumers. Some employers encounter significant issues when these agencies call their employees at work during business hours.
This can be a very difficult situation, and employers may be somewhat limited in what they can do without the aid of employees. It is understandable that employees might be embarrassed by the debt and might not wish to discuss it with the employer, but your company might try an approach that includes saying:
“You do not need to disclose your personal business to us. We do not need to know the details, or the reason for these calls.”
“We want to protect your privacy, but we also want to help you (and your colleagues) focus on work by stopping these harassing calls.”
“Would you please work with us to stop these calls?”
Under the Debt Collection Practices Act (without the prior consent of the consumer given directly to the debt collector or the express permission of a court), “a debt collector may not communicate with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt at the consumer’s place of employment if the debt collector knows, or has reason to know, that the consumer’s employer prohibits the consumer from receiving such communication.”
To put it plainly, if an employee is getting harassing calls from a debt collection agency while at work, and the employee tells the agency that the employer’s policy prohibits the employee from taking such calls during business hours, the agency must stop calling the employee at work.
It is important to note, however, that the law primarily applies to third-party collection agencies, and not to companies that are attempting to collect their own debts. For example, the law does not apply to a landlord who is attempting to collect a tenant’s overdue rent, or to a cable company trying to collect an overdue bill.
However, even in the case of a private debt collector, a letter might go a long way toward stopping the calls. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has sample letters on its website that both employers and employees might find helpful. Further, the bureau has a complaint process that employers and employees could use to report the actions of debt collectors.
Employers might also try contacting the local police department (non-emergency) to report these calls as some states have laws prohibiting harassing phone calls.
For example, in the state of California, harassing or “annoying” phone calls are a misdemeanor offense, unless such calls are made in good faith or during the ordinary course and scope of business.
Kyra Kudick is an associate editor at J.J. Keller & Associates Inc., a nationally recognized compliance resource company that offers products and services to address the range of responsibilities held by human resources and corporate professionals. For more information, visit www.jjkeller. com/hr or www.jjkellerlibrary.com.