Bill collectors coming to my home...

I have had several bill collectors coming to my home in regards to the business my husband shared with a relative. I have a kind of legal question. When they came here, also looking for the partner and knew they couldn't find him, is it illegal to tell them where they might find him also? I just had a nasty call from his astrainged (SP) wife threatining me and my husband for telling the bill collectors where he may be staying. They are separated and he really isn't supposed to be there, but is there most every day & night, not at the place he has purchased through the company. She states that it isn't his LEGAL residence, and I know that is true, but I haven't told anyone that it is. He does pay her rent there etc, but isn't legally living there.

We are having to contend with bill collectors at my house, and I know what is going on. We are having to pay attorneys etc to handle this as well. Just wondering, shouldn't the partner, since he is being looked for, be found. It is not a big secret where he has been staying since he had told us and the truck (which is in our credit as well as the company's, not his) is sitting there all the time.

Don't know if this is the place to ask this, but since it has to do with bill collectors & warrent of debt coming here, just thought I'd ask.

Thanks for any info!

Thought I'd better clear up one thing...this isn't an actual Credit Collections, it is the collection department from the businesses, but they are getting antsy. We have only gotten one Warrant of Debt, but the company accidentally put our home address on the warrant, not the business address, and also mailed 2 other copies, one to the Partner and one to the business. So, now the courts have our home addresses listed, not the business. This also scares me.

Victoria,

If the are considered the original creditors, this means they are the collections department of the people you owe the money to, then you really can't tell them to cease and desist per the FDCPA.


But.....My state of PA as well as many others has seperate laws on debt collections for CA's and OC's.

For instance...In PA, if I tell a Debt collector in writing not to come to my house or call work, they can't ever do it again.

In PA if a Debt Collector contacts you they cannot contact you again for 30 days.

In PA OC's and CA's must provide validation of all debts they claim you owe.

PA considers anyone trying to collect a debt, even OC's as a debt collector.

Check your state's laws as they are probably better then the Federal laws like my states.

As for Debt collectors coming to my house, I wouldn't stand for that. I would tell them to leave and if they didn't or came back I would call the police and have a tresspass report done. If they came back again they would be arrested.



Tac

WOW! I never thought of that. I had expected collections of some type, but not to my house, being it is a company thing. They were polite though, and have known my husband for years.

Is it illegal to tell them when they ask where they might also find the other owner of the company? Not necessarily his legal home address? That is where I have been told by the wife (they are separated, but most of the time staying together), that she will get an attorney and do something to me & my husband if her address is given again. Her address is public, she wasn't in the phone book yet, but it could be found on Bigfoot.com, so it wasn't even an unlisted phone number. I'm worried that she will come up with something to get me in trouble. They were looking for my husband also, and I told them how to get in touch with him during the day since he had already left for work. I wasn't hiding anything.

But, it's glad to know that the same people shouldn't be knocking on my door every other day. As far as the Warrant of Debt, will that harm anything since it was filed in the courts with my home address and not the business address. The partner even received one here. The business said they don't know how they pulled that address after I informed them that the bills, etc had always gone to the corporation, not here. They had not come here since our old account when my husband was self employed, and that one was paid-off and closed (in good standing, no problems), this was a new account.

Like Tac said, you can tell them not to come to your house, and if they do again, send them a fax advising them.

Also, I think you should make sure that the address is changed at the courthouse - request in writing that they do that.

As far as the partner goes, if you don't like him and you want them to find him, tell them where he is.

You don't have an obligation to tell anyone anything. I would just had them a business card and send them off ... "Nice to meet you, but please don't come back."

I'm not clear WHY they were looking for anyone in person, hope they weren't out to break some bones.

No violence, very nice people. I believe that I am more worried about the address at the courthouse being my home & not the company.

The only other thing I was worried about was the thread to get an attorney involved for telling someone where to find the other person, it's not like they were hiding or anything. From what I gather, there is nothing legal that can come and haunt me for telling a very nice person where they MIGHT, not definiately, find him. Again, I could understand if someone were out for blood, but the message I got was basically like they were sort of "invading her privacy" kind of thing. I'd sent them to his other house, but it is extremely rare to find him there. And, he won't answer his cell phone, not even when we call, does not have a regular phone and won't pick up his registered mail, sad, but I'm sure it happens quite often. I know, there are times when I don't/won't answer my phone as well.

Victoria, why are you so concerned with the bill collectors finding the guy?

Christine...not quite sure what you mean. If the bill collector came to my house & mentioned/asked if I knew where they might find him as well, I gave him the information I had, no biggie in my eyes. I gave them my husbands new cell number as well, since he wasn't home. He has gone to talk to these people, he's not running from anything, but he doesn't work for the company anymore, so doesn't have access to the bank account to pay anything for them. Although, I know he worked there when the bills occurred.

I really couldn't care less about the other person, to be quite honest, but, why should they keep coming to just my home. He doesn't actually list a "home" address, he uses the office address for EVERYTHING, including his medical bills. He rarely is to be found there though.

Christine...just got to thinking about what you had said.

The only worry I have about them finding him (really, NOT a worry), but what I had said was that I was worried about what his "wife" said. She stated she was going to get an attorney because I gave someone her address when they asked where they might find him. I am just trying to avoid going to court or something myself.

**Unfortunately, I am the one with the co-signer on a truck "gone bad" also with the same person.

"Luckily", he did not make his payment this month (due last Monday) and GMAC told us (without me asking them) to go get the truck, the only signature on the loan was my husbands and we can do what we want to do with it, including selling it, without his permission. She basically encouraged us to go take it since he repeatedly did not make the payments. She also said that since he was the only signer on the loan, if we do take it, there was really nothing he could do about it. I'm hoping he thinks that GMAC repo'd it since he didn't make the payment. We have an appointment with our attorney tomorrow regarding the warrant of debt that came to the house, this will be asked also.

Hadn't realized this was the SAME guy as with the truck you co-signed for.

What did your attorney say?

I knew that was a business thing, so I wasn't going to get into so much. I just worried about my giving his info out & that collectors & letters were showing up at my home.

Our attorney stated that 1: I can not get in trouble for helping them locate the partner, if she wants she can pay for an attorney if she wants to.

2: Go get the truck. Only, he recommended that we hand it over to GMAC, which I really don't want to do since it will affect my husbands personal credit, from what I understand, just like a regular re-po.

3: The warrant of debt: offer to the company to pay 1/2 and then file a case against the partner. Come to find out, my husband and the partner both "personally guaranteed" the account in the company's name. My husband will still have to go to court if the partner doesn't come through & pay at least the remaining (we are not telling him we are paying part of it..that will just give him a reason to not pay it all). The company has agreed they would speak to the judge and tell them that my husband paid his 1/2 of the bill and try to get him out of this. They have been very nice and say they are in this county's court system for this all the time so they may have some persuasion in this case. Now we just have to come up with almost $3500.00 before Nov 14.

The reason the Warrant of Debt came to my house in all 3 names: 1 envelope to the company c/o my husband, one just to the company & one to the company c/o the partner: the company the bill is owed to had sent a registered letter to the company and it was returned, in other words, the partner wouldn't sign for it (and this is not the first time he has done that).

Now, this IS getting personal, since the account was "personally guaranteed". At least that is what I am understanding.

"2: Go get the truck. Only, he recommended that we hand it over to GMAC, which I really don't want to do since it will affect my husbands personal credit, from what I understand, just like a regular re-po."

Your attorney is an idiot, feel free to tell him I said so. You are right about the repo.

I'd ask for my money back.