Many clients come to me distraught by the fact that a creditor has called a parent, relative or friend about an unpaid debt of the client. The question is always “Can they do that?” and “How can I stop it?” The emotional toll of fielding constant collector calls is overwhelming especially when there are children in the household.

North Carolina (and most states) have a specific statute that addresses the issue of contacting 3rd parties. The North Carolina statute reads as follows:

North Carolina Fair Debt Collection Practices Act § 75. 53. Unreasonable publication.
No debt collector shall unreasonably publicize information regarding a consumer’s debt. Such unreasonable publication includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(1) Any communication with any person other than the debtor or his attorney, except:
a. With the written permission of the debtor or his attorney given after default;
b. To persons employed by the debt collector, to a credit reporting agency, to a person or business employed to collect the debt on behalf of the creditor, or to a person who makes a legitimate request for the information;
c. To the spouse (or one who stands in place of the spouse) of the debtor, or to the parent or guardian of the debtor if the debtor is a minor and lives in the same household with such parent;
d. For the sole purpose of locating the debtor, if no indication of indebtedness is made;
e. Through legal process.
(2) Using any form of communication which ordinarily would be seen or heard by any person other than the consumer that displays or conveys any information about the alleged debt other than the name, address and phone number of the debt collector except as otherwise provided in this Article.
(3) Disclosing any information relating to a consumer’s debt by publishing or posting any list of consumers, except for credit reporting purposes and the publication and distribution of otherwise permissible “stop lists” to the point of sale locations where credit is extended, or by advertising for sale any claim to enforce payment thereof or in any other manner other than through legal process. (1977, c. 747, s. 4; 1979, c. 910.)

Application of the statute means that a creditor can call a 3rd party but can only do so for the sole purpose of locating the debtor. The creditor cannot tell the 3rd party the purpose of the call but can state the name of the company they are calling for, if asked. Most of the time the creditor makes these calls to embarrasses the debtor into calling the creditor back or making a payment to avoid future calls.
Creditors may discuss the debt with parents/spouses and guardians but only if the debtor is a minor and lives in the same house.
I suggest to my clients that they call the creditor and ask them not to contact third parties and be sure the creditor has valid contact information so there is no excuse to look elsewhere. I also suggest that debtors get the name and license number of each collector and keep notes if the collector becomes hostile, abusive or demanding because you may be entitled to damages for certain behaviors.

If your financial situation has gotten to the point that you are being constantly called by collectors it is probably time to discuss your situation with an attorney and explore the filing of a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13, either of which will operate to stop all collection activity and make for a  quieter and less stressful home environment!