Reply #20: You absolutely do NOT have to pay them then and there.

[Akoto]

I would wager that this particular caller committed several violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. We became intimately familiar with those rules after my mom had hospital time without insurance. You might inform the collector of your familiarity with it if they call again. If you're in a state that allows it, you can also record these calls without telling them. Keep those tapes, as well as an accurate list of dates/times/names for the calls, and you're armed to sue.

My suggestion is to first call the creditor (Gold's Gym), confirm your debt, and then see if you can't settle it with them directly. Inform them of the conduct of their collectors and the fact that they're probably breaking the law.

If you can, find out which collections agency is calling you. You can then send a cease and desist letter by certified mail and with return receipt. By law, they must heed your request and cease calling you ANYWHERE, except to inform you of some specific action being taken. They can only communicate in writing at that point.

If you care to fight the issue, get an attorney to send the C&D, and to then order that all communications go through him/her. Believe me, the whole tone of the discussion changes when an attorney comes into the picture. It sure did for us.