There are a lot of things that collection agencies can do to collect past due balances on behalf of their clients.
But, there a lot of things they CANNOT do, and one of those is to harass you when they call you on the telephone.
There are laws put in place, specifically the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act), which protect consumers from abusive practices that collection agencies have used in the past to get money.
Collection agencies are precluded from threatening you with violence if you don’t pay your bill.
Collection agencies cannot curse at you, use obsence language, or use rude and threatening profanity to collect past debts.
Collection agencies cannot list your debts in a public way, as in public notices in the classified section of your newspaper, or in a stand-alone publication.
Collection agencies cannot call you repeatedly, one call after another, to wear you down and submit to paying a debt. (In fact, there are ways to write one simple letter to stop collection agencies from calling you once and for all!)
Collection agencies cannot call you and pretend to be someone they are not. For instance, they cannot say they are from a law firm if they are not. They cannot say they are a lawyer if they are not. They cannot pretend to be an old college buddy looking to find the whereabouts of a debtor who owes money. (Sometimes they DO run right up to the line by asking for the person by his or her first name, attempting to connect via affinity. So watch out!)
Collection agencies CAN be vigilant in attempting to collect debts…. however, they MUst FOLLOW THE LAW!
You don’t have to deal with harassment for even one minute. You have rights under the FDCA.
If you DO feel you are being harassed, it might be a good idea to voice those concerns, as in: “I feel you are harassing me right now, and I refuse to be spoken to in this way.”
Some debt relief experts suggest tactics that include turning around the question asked by the debt collector. An example might be: If you are asked how much you can send today, answer, “I can send nothing today as I do not acknowledge this debt. You must mail me proof that I owe this debt. Do not call me at this number again.”
Of course, at this point you will likely be getting a letter, and you can then take action to dispute the debt (if you do not owe the amount) or settle the debt (pay as much as you can afford as quickly as you can).
Never, under any circumstance, acknowledge that you owe a debt when a debt collector calls. This is because that debt collector may be calling about ANOTHER debt, and if you do admit you owe the money, get set for an onslaught of phone calls.
Moreover, be aware that if you have a debt that has run the course of the statute of limitations (in my state it is five years), then that debt is “time-barred” — it cannot be collected — UNLESS you admit that you owe the money! So, if you play the part of Chatty Kathy and mention to the debt collector that, Yes, you should have paid that bill on time, then you could get roped into actually acknowledging (yes, they are probably taping the conversation) that that debt is real and really yours, you could be opening the door for an agressive collection agent to turn old, uncollectible debt into a new debt showing up on your credit history, with the clock reset for another five years of debt collection efforts! So keep your mouth closed!
The purpose of this defensive stance is to always balk at admitting owing a debt (just think…. it could be an identity thief on the other end of that phone call!) UNTIL you are presented with a factual, written explanation with full documentation regarding said debt. If they are calling regarding an authentic debt, they must have the authentic documentation, and you are entitled to be mailed a copy, no questions asked.
Here is the exact wording from the FDCPA website:
Harassment or abuse [15 USC 1692d]

A debt collector may not engage in any conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse any person in connection with the collection of a debt. Without limiting the general application of the foregoing, the following conduct is a violation of this section:

(1) The use or threat of use of violence or other criminal means to harm the physical person, reputation, or property of any person.

(2) The use of obscene or profane language or language the natural consequence of which is to abuse the hearer or reader.

(3) The publication of a list of consumers who allegedly refuse to pay debts, except to a consumer reporting agency or to persons meeting the requirements of section 603(f) or 604(3)1 of this Act.

(4) The advertisement for sale of any debt to coerce payment of the debt.

(5) Causing a telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass any person at the called number.

(6) Except as provided in section 804, the placement of telephone calls without meaningful disclosure of the caller’s identity.

You can read the various sections of the entire FDCPA here to learn more about how this law protects you from unscrupulous debt collectors who won’t stop calling you.

Visit this link to review a fuller explanation of what collection agencies are not allowed to do when they contact you by telephone or mail.

But from now on, dealing with collection agencies on the phone means you never have to say you’re sorry when you challenge any manner of harassment, abusive language, or rude behavior from the caller. You don’t deserve that. And it’s against the law.