How to Avoid Collection Calls

There are a host of tactics that a consumer can employ to avoid collection calls.

There are two key reasons why you might want to avoid collection calls. Firstly, you might not be prepared emotionally to deal with collection calls at the present time. Secondly, depending upon how you choose to address an unpaid account then you are in a much better position if you speak to a bill collector at a time of your choosing.

This article assumes that at the present time that you do not want to speak with bill collectors.

1. Changing your phone number

Some individuals might choose to change their phone number in order to stop collection calls. If you choose this option then it is important that you tell anyone that you give your number to not to disclose your number to anyone. For those employing this tactic it is not recommended that you apply for credit because you will be required to disclose your phone number.

2. Screening your incoming phone calls

i. Using technology to screen your calls

It is possible to use technology to screen your calls. If you have Call Display on your phone and you do not recognize a caller you can simply let the call go to voicemail. If you you don't have Call Display but you do have voicemail then you can let all your incoming calls go to voicemail and return the calls you wish to. If you are curious about a particular voicemail you can wait until after 9:00 p.m., local time, to call a phone number to learn the identity of the firm calling you.

ii. Have a person screen your calls

You can also avoid speaking to a bill collector by having another person--as well as yourself--screen your incoming phone calls. If another person is screening your calls then he or she can simply take a message. It is also possible for you to pretend to be someone other than yourself in order to screen your calls. If you are getting calls at home then you could pretend to be a roommate or another family member. If you are receiving collection calls at work then you can pretend to be an assistant or a co-worker and offer to take a message from the collector.

3. Tactics if a bill collector gets you on the phone

i. Decline to acknowledge you are the person the bill collector is asking for

Despite your best efforts to avoid speaking with a bill collector, a bill collector may call you and get you on the phone. You can still avoid a collection call if you do not acknowledge that you are the person that the bill collector wishes to speak with. Privacy laws in Canada prohibit a collector from commencing a collection call unless the collector first verifies that he or she is speaking with the person who is legally responsible to pay an outstanding account.

The following example of a phone call between a bill collector and a consumer named Avril Lavigne will help illustrate this point.

Collector: May I speak to Avril Lavigne?

Avril Lavigne: Whom may I ask is calling?

Collector: My name is Vlad d'Impaler. I need to speak to Avril Lavigne about an

important legal matter.

Avril Lavigne: The next time I speak to Avril I can let her know you called. What is your

phone number? And what is the name of your firm?

In this example the consumer simply declined to acknowledge that she was the person the bill collector wanted to speak with. This simple tactic prevented the collector from starting a collection call.

ii. Hang up the phone on the collector

If a bill collector gets you on the phone you always have the option of simply hanging up on the collector.

In some instances, it might be prudent for you to have a very brief conversation with a collector simply to identify the name of your creditor, the account in question, and the current outstanding balance. It you decide to have this brief conversation then it is very important that you do not disclose any information to the collector.

You are under no legal obligation to speak with a debt collector--or anyone else--who is calling you.

In this short YouTube video I summarize how a Canadian can avoid collection calls.

In this YouTube video former collection agency lawyer and author Mark Silverthorn describes how a Canadian can avoid collection calls.

Former consumer lawyer Mark Silverthorn has plenty of experience advising consumers how to avoid collection calls.