Legally Speaking Answers & Questions

September 11

Q: Is it ok for a lawyer/bill collector to call your place of work and leave a message on someone else's phone? – Jimmy

A: There's a law called the Fair Debt Collections Act. Debt collectors have to comply with that. Part of that law is that they can't harass you. But what does that mean? If they're calling his place of business, he needs to notify them to stop, that it's harassing and they're violating that act and to stop doing it. You can file a lawsuit against them for violations of that act.

Q: My daughter received a letter from a Collection Company with regards to their attempt to collect a debt from a person with her name and somehow had her social security number. My daughter sent the initial note back to her saying she did not start a checking account with Washington Mutual. She has received two notes from this company since she sent the note. I am concerned about her sending any additional information. They in a form letter stated some inaccurate information such as address, where the person reportedly lived (where she never lived), the state of birth, the signature they had on file, etc. Should we send this letter back? What is my daughter's responsibility on this?   – Richard from Houston

A: It sounds to me like she's gotten her identity stolen, which happens a lot. Does she have a responsibility for the alleged debt? No. If she didn't incur, she doesn't have any responsibility for it. But if someone stole her ID and got her Social Security Number, it is going to affect her credit. You can handle it but it's going to take some time.

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All answers provided by Judge Ken Wise of Fridge, Resendez & Wise LLC.