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Richard L. DiMaggio
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Collection Agency Harassment: What the Debt Collector Doesn't Want You to Know Paperback – April 1, 2002

by Richard Dimaggio (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 18 ratings
See all formats and editions
Every year, millions of people are the target of collection agency harassment. People react in a variety of ways: they screen their phone calls, are afraid to open their mail. Some consumers run to a bankruptcy lawyer simply to get away from the harassment.

Few people understand their rights under the law, and even fewer know they can actually sue the debt collector for abusive and deceptive behavior.

In fact, the collection industry is a multi-billion dollar industry: collectors are trained in the art of deception. When a consumer loses a job, goes through a divorce, or has an illness, they are already in a state of depression. The collector knows this, and knows how to prey on you to get you to pay.

Collectors and their lawyers meet at conventions. The lawyers tell the collectors which cases have been won and which have been lost; which tactics have been deemed legal and which have been deemed illegal. Imagine: they are ganging up on you. They are trained; you should be, too.

This book is written by an attorney who has spent the better part of a decade suing debt collectors. Learn the secrets they don't want you to know. Learn how courts have interpreted the law.

This book comes with case citations, and even sample complaints.

You can actually sue the debt collector, and win money damages, including 100% of your costs and attorney fees.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    160 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Consumer Press
  4. Publication date
    April 1, 2002
  5. Dimensions
    8.75 x 0.25 x 10.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0971711909
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0971711907
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

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"Local Author Hits Home Run with Insider Look at Debt Collectors". -- Troy Record, April 23, 2002

From the Author

I am not surprised that the collection industry has attempted to sabatoge this book with single star ratings and negative reviews. One debt collector has even advised you to "download a copy of the law for free". In fact, the collection industry is very much against this book because it teaches the you, the consumer, how much control you really have. You can sue a debt collector. How frightening is this to them?!

What the collector doesn't want you to know is that you can sue the debt collector for some very technical violations of the law. That while the law is bland, it is the way the law has been intrepreted to give you power and the right to sue. You will not get this legal interpretation anywhere else, and it is not in the law you download--that is why the debt collectors are pointing you in the wrong direction.

If a debt collector calls you a single time after you tell them not to, you can sue this debt collector. If the debt collector threatens "further action" and doesn't sue you, you can sue the debt collector. If the debt collector demands payment in 7 days (or any number fewer than 30), yet gives you 30 days to dispute the debt, you can sue the debt collector. This list goes on and on. Sure you can sue for abuse, but you can sue for other reasons also.

Are you going to turn to a credit counselling center for help? They won't tell you they are staffed and financed by bank personnel--anything to keep you ignorant of your rights.

The debt collector uses a desk name, so you don't know who they are.

This is a multi-billion dollar business that has never, ever been exposed. Most of them have failed in their chosen professions, and have taken up harassing people for money.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Consumer Press (April 1, 2002)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0971711909
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0971711907
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.75 x 0.25 x 10.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 18 ratings

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Richard L. DiMaggio

Richard L. DiMaggio

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
18 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Got2bjb
5.0 out of 5 stars Helped me Immensly! Some things listed you would more than likley not know!
Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2017
Verified Purchase
Cant seem to catch a break! Would certainly use this book to help.
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David
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2017
Verified Purchase
thank you
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Al Harvin
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2014
Verified Purchase
Great book...I would recommend to anyone encountering debt collector issues. Well written and easy to understand.
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DK
5.0 out of 5 stars Mr. DiMaggio teaches consumers what they didn't learn in high school!
Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2016
I have had this book for quite some time now. Mr. DiMaggio has taken the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and has simplified it to a point that the "least sophisticated consumer" can understand the law. Many Americans lack financial education. They don't teach FDCPA in high school or college; thus, when people reach the age of majority, they fall prey to a system that entices them to get into debt and then beats them down when they fail to pay those debts. As a result, these hard-working Americans are relentlessly pursued until they capitulate or wise up and fight back. This book is the means to an end and should be highly regarded. Of course, the debt collection industry doesn't like this book because it is full of lawbreakers. All one has to do is thoroughly review court cases on Google Scholar to see all of the allegations. You may also wish to read Clomon v. Jackson, 988 F.2d 1314 which is still standing case law and has been cited in numerous other FDCPA-related cases. This appellate case stems from a Publishers Clearing House debt that was less than $10.00! Debt collectors (including law firms attempting foreclosures) should worry about the contents of this book, thanks to cases like Jerman v. Carlisle, 514 U.S. 291. This book gives you the basic strategies to fight back. Kudos to a book well written! Dave Krieger, Clouded Titles
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Steven Cain
5.0 out of 5 stars Let the Devil sort 'em out!
Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2002
While "kill 'em all" may be an extreme reaction, this book offers a number of highly satisfying solutions to the problem of persecution by the goose-stepping thugs of the world of debt collection.
This book, along with Dover and Donovan's Back Off! empowers the reader with a vast quantity of information so that a victim may make informed decisions in dealing with their debt situation.
While the finer points of the Law apply to the American Justice System, the principles may be applied in virtually any democracy. One of the most useful things about this book is that it explains the structure of the organizations and the PSYCHOLOGY of debt collection. Knowing your enemy is 90% of the battle.
I would like to expand on the psychological aspects of the debt collection process. In my own experience, in which I was being hounded by a Canadian-based collection agency (some years ago), I noticed that they often use female collectors. This, plus the TONE OF VOICE used by these women is the key to the darker side of collection practices.
All people usually subconsciously associate women with nurturing and the Mother figure. By the female debt collectors using a Standard Harsh Callous Unfeeling Cruel Debt Collector Tone Of Voice, they are deliberately trying to trigger a fear and panic response in their victims. This parallels the experiments in which female monkeys have had their facial nerves severed so that they cannot show emotion via facial expression, which causes extreme distress and panic in their babies.
Debt collection, as it is usually practiced, is one of the most disgusting and utterly cruel practices in Western society. Many people have literally been driven to suicide by these monsters. Others have simply given up and declared bankruptcy, although as we see, this does not necessarily end the harassment. More than a few bailiffs have been shot dead by desperate debtors, and it is surely only a matter of time before somebody adopts a Tim McVeigh solution to the problem of harassment.
This wonderful book clearly shows that it needn't come to this. Before you strap on ninety pounds of C-4 and six inch nails, please read this superb study. Not only will it be more satisfying to use the System to defeat these callous bullies, you'll even live to see the fruits of your actions!
Please do not consider my above comments to be flippant. I know what went through my own mind during my darkest hours of persecution. While I was able to clear my own debts by getting a consolidation mortgage, there are many people who do not have this option, and for them, desperate measures will surely beckon.
In the post-911 world, even debt collectors should be reflecting on their mortality. I urge you to arm yourselves with knowledge, not propylene oxide. Buy this book, and Back Off!, and beat the bullies at their own game. Nuke the system, not the building!
36 people found this helpful
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Literary Vagabond
4.0 out of 5 stars Save your money, starting now...
Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2003
Let me start this review by saving you some money. Click on the author's name to get his newer version. It's contains the same advice at a cheaper price.
The advice he gives is very effective. No need to feel nervous when speaking with those "tough talkers" hiding behind the phone line as they say things which you know they would never say to your face. The fact of the matter is that there is a law on the books which stops them from phoning you but you have to say the magic words... "I want you to stop calling me, cease all phone communications with me" It's that simple. Don't have conversations with these people, as they work with scripts. They have answers to every possible excuse you can come up with. So just tell them to stop calling even before they start to open their stinky mouths then hang-up in their face.
33 people found this helpful
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Stanley K. So
2.0 out of 5 stars Book or On-line info.
Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2007
I think u may get all the info. on line rather than pay $$ to buy this book.
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Karen Fletcher
5.0 out of 5 stars Every Consumer Should Read This Book
Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2003
I think this book was extremly helpful. Mr. DiMaggio has inside knowledge of what goes on in collection agencies. Some of the things he talks about are things I already suspected, such as the "power over" tactic in which a debt collector calls himself Mr. or Ms. and then calls you by your first name (Chapter 4;page 21). He says this is done to make you think that you are talking to a superior.
He also gave some advice that I wish that I had used. When these debt collectors call tell them that you are taping the conversation for "quality control" purposes (Chapter 3;page 13). I would suggest that those who have a speaker phone turn it on and let the debt collector know that it is turned on. I suspect that some of them will try to tell you that they can't talk to you on a speaker phone in order to protect your privacy. I would suggest reminding them that you are in your own home and privacy is not a problem. You may even tell them that the handset is broken in case they try to get you to turn the speaker off.
If I had known this information two years ago I probably would not have filed for bankruptcy so soon. But I will tell everyone I know about this book and then maybe we can all give these jerks a taste of their own medicine.
I believe all consumers should read this book because you never know when hard times will come and having this information beforehand will make things a little easier.
22 people found this helpful
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