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‘If a guy has to “cheat” you to get his money back, I’m OK with that.”

Really? So you only support the law for some people?

If you cut me off in traffic can I shoot you? I mean you did me wrong after all.

While I agree that people should pay their bills, I disagree that it's “okay” for debt collectors to “do whatever’s necessary” or “cheat”.

Why should anyone other than the debtor be harassed? It is neither their debt nor their responsibility.

When we first moved, and obtained our phone number, we received phone calls from morning to night for whomever the previous holder of the phone number was, and these collectors were the most rude, disgusting people with whom I've ever dealt (and I work in criminal appeals). I would answer and when I would politely inform them that this was not the X household, we had just gotten the number, I was called liar, was threatened with law suits, etc. I even sent a cease and desist letter to two particular firms, and AFTER they received our certified letter, they continued to call. When I told them I would be reporting them to the Attorney General’s office, they called me a thief and a lowlife. I recorded all the phone calls and turned them over to the Attorney Generals’ office. All this harassment because I had the misfortune of being assigned a phone number that had previously belonged to a debtor. After that experience, I am thankful for the FDCPA, and while I've not had to avail myself upon it again, I do heartily believe that just as everyone else must, debt collectors, too, must abide by the law.

It doesn't always work that way. I have a company trying to collect a debt from me, that isn't a debt. A former business I had dealings with filed a false debt against me (and others). So I now have to take them to court. I have already contacted the DA and BBB.

In the meantime, I have a debt collector harassing me. I just sent a cease and desist letter to them... well see if that works.

I also get harassing calls all the time for someone that somehow got connected to me in some database. I keep telling them, "don't know this person,... stop calling". That's doesn't work.

So my point being, not all "collections" are for real debts.

Excellent. PAY YOUR BILLS. If a guy has to “cheat” you to get his money back, I’m OK with that.

I agree with you to a point. Some people are true deadbeats who have no scruples about not paying their bills.

There are however truly good people who are in a bad situation who have fallen behind..they should not be punished the same as the deadbeats.

A lot of people have fallen behind on debt payments because they've lost their jobs. A relative of mine ran into financial problems after a major illness. She had never given my name as a reference--she didn't have any loans, but had used a credit card when she first got sick. When her disease recurred and she couldn't pay the credit card bill, the bill collector called me AT MY JOB about her bill, humiliating me in front of the rest of my office as if I had been skipping out on my bills. I have a tongue like a hawthorn bush when I have to, and I gave him a brisk word of advice or two.

If a guy has to “cheat” you to get his money back, I’m OK with that.

If someone is a consistent deadbeat, I'm fine with that. But if someone has a major life setback, like getting laid off or becoming seriously ill, and they've always paid timely in the past, no way.