“Stanley McLeod, you need to call Green Tree and get your act together and make your payments on your mortgage and quit playing these games.

“Why don’t you have that helicopter pick you up and bring that payment to the office?”

It’s a phone call the McLeod family will never forget. It was left by a representative of of the collection company employed by Green Tree Servicing, the company who serviced the mortgage on the McLeod’s home, after the family fell behind on their mortgage when Stanley had a heart attack and had to be flown to a hospital.

Dianne McLeod recalls her husband, Stanley, getting so visibly upset when the debt collectors called that she had to take the phone away from him. She believes constant harassing phone calls and other tactics eventually killed him.

Stanley McLeod died of heart failure in 2005. “I think they were a major contributor to his death because of the stress and what I saw it doing to him,” she said.

The trial is scheduled to begin in January.

“The collection activity did not lead to his death. The claim is meritless,” said Senior Vice President and General Counsel Brian Corey of Green Tree Servicing.

“We deny that the content, the number or the timing of the calls had anything to do with him dying in 2005,” Corey said.

If you think that is bad, here are more calls made by debt collectors…

“You’re a piece of s—. That’s why you turned your phone off. Mother f—–. But that’s OK.”

“You haven’t heard the last of me. But if it takes me a year or takes me two, believe me, I will find you. You better move. But if you move, you better move to California, ’cause I do travel. And I like traveling. Goodbye.”

And then there was this one:

“When I see you. I’m gonna f— you up. I want my money, and I want it now. I hate people who lie to me and abuse my company. … If you bring my money back, you don’t have to worry about me, just disregard my message.”

With the downturn in the economy, more accounts are going into collections and the number of complaints is going up.

You can read the whole article on cnn.com.

Is it any wonder why we don’t like debt collectors? We really need more enforcement of the current laws regarding harassment and other illegal debt collection tactics.

Scott

Your Northwest Indiana Loan Guy specializing in FHA and USDA Rural Development loans.

Helping Clients get into homes, and stay there. Now referring for credit restoration, debt negotiation, and loan modifications.