Can a Creditor Call Me At My Job?

Have you ever had a creditor or debt collector call you at work?  After the shock of the call wears off, you wonder “can they do that, is that legal?”  The answer of whether it is legal in North Carolina depends on your specific situation.

North Carolina General Statutes, Article 2, Section 75-52 outlines what is considered harassment by a debt collector.   Subsection 4 specifically addresses phone calls made by debt collectors to an individual’s place of work.  There are two key component to this subsection that help determine whether calling you at work is considered legal under the North Carolina Statutes.

Did you provide your work telephone number to the creditor or debt collector at any point in time thus telling them it is okay to contact you at work?

Does the creditor or debt collector have another telephone number to contact you at during non-working hours?

If you provided the debt collector your work telephone number, you may have unintentionally given them permission to contact you at work.  As a result, you want to correct that problem by telling the creditor or debt collector that the work telephone number is no longer a good number to reach you, and you are requesting they no longer contact you at that telephone number.  In addition, you will need to provide another telephone number they can contact you at during non-working hours.  If you do not provide the creditor or debt collector with another valid telephone number where they can contact you, they may continue to contact you at work even if you have asked them to stop calling you there.  Why, because the work number is the only telephone number they have to contact you.

You can easily stop creditors or debt collectors from contacting you at work,  however, you must provide them with an alternative number you can be reached during non-working hours.