Quote:
Originally Posted by max.b
Bad advice. At least in some states, trying to collect a debt owed to you makes you a "debt collector", under federal law. The latter prohibits you (debt collector) from discussing the debt with third parties, among many other restrictions. I believe it's up to $1000 per violation (say, phone call). If you create problems for someone at work, you'll likely be liable for a whole lot more, regardless of where you live. If you use your buddy, who's a senior officer, to make some serviceman pay you then, depending on a lot of things, it may even be a felony (extortion).
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Good point since City-Data does not offer legal advice... only members sharing experiences
Fortunately, I only had this problem once and it was quickly resolved... Can't comment on the legalities of having a retired military friend make the call since I am not a lawyer...
The retired Commander was glad to assist and commented that he did not tolerate those under his command tarnishing the reputation of the Navy... could be he is from a different era in more ways than one
I do know military is not the same as civilian... there are many variance just in the soldier and sailors relief act as an example that directly affect residential rental leases.
Now, I would be grateful if you could tell me how to stop bill collectors from calling me for people that were either past tenants or associated with past tenants or simply listed my phone number somewhere.
The worst has been the emergency engineering cell phones at the local hospital... these phones must be answered 24/7 and never go to voice mail... numbers have been changed at least a dozen times due to bill collection efforts against someone that previously had the numbers... most were robocalls.
Not much of a military presence anymore in the SF Bay Area since the massive Base Closures years ago and I don't anticipate a repeat...
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