There are a lot of reasons why this could be happening. Don't worry until you talk to the office. Most of my phone calls involve confidential information. Unless I am certain it is okay to leave messages on a machine or have recceived prior consent from a client theonly information I leave is my name and number.
Full Answer
Leaving Messages and Voicemails at Your Place of Employment Debt collectors cannot contact third parties for collecting your debts except for the regulated purpose of locating you. If the creditor or debt collector leaves voicemails at your place of employment, then odds are the FDCPA is being violated.
What Should You Say When Leaving a Voicemail Message? If you want to work from a basic script, you can simply use the variables above and work in your own unique details: • Hi (Name of the person), this is (Full name) at (Company name). • I’m calling because (core message, what it’s regarding).
Here are a few of the most common dangers when trying to leave patients a HIPAA compliant voicemail: 1. Patient name: Never use your patient’s name when leaving a voicemail. It also is not recommended to leave any other information that identifies your patient.
If a debt collector is leaving messages on shared voicemail, then the FDCPA is being violated. As an example, if they call your home and are greeted with, “Hello, you have reached the Smith family, Joe, Jane and Johnny, please leave a message,” it is obvious that it is a shared voicemail.
Although they are legally allowed to leave you a voicemail, it can only be done on a private cell phone where they are sure it will not be heard by a third party. Do not stand for debt collectors that violate the FDCPA. Always save your voicemail messages and any proof that may be usable in court.
It could be that you are a witness to some event that they represent someone else for, they could represent a creditor of yours, or many, many, many other reasons.
The short answer is nope, you can't get served with a summons and complaint by phone, e-mail, voicemail, fax, or otherwise unless you or your attorney make arrangements to do so.
A lawyer would almost never direct a process server to start the service process over phone. But of a litigant is stubbornly unavailable for service the traditional way, in many states, phone service may qualify.
Some common signs of a scam include:Payment needs to happen quickly. You can't ask questions or get clarification.It's an emergency. Someone may threaten you or your loved ones.Requests for money usually happen over text, email or phone.The person contacting you is not someone you recognize.
A: Yes, an attorney can contact you but you have no obligation to speak with them. If you believe you are at risk of being accused of a crime, you should contact a criminal defense attorney to discuss the details of the matter. If you are contacted by law enforcement at any point, do not make any statements.
Process servers do not usually call ahead of time since this gives people time to avoid being served court papers. A process server will never ask for any money. They do not collect money owed for divorce cases, child support, or any other legal reason (especially via a wire transfer).
Answer: Legitimate process servers are highly unlikely to make such calls. The calls are almost certainly from scammers who try to frighten people into giving account information to transfer funds.
Report Telephone ScamsReport telephone scams online to the Federal Trade Commission. You can also call 1-877-382-4357 (TTY: 1-866-653-4261). ... Report all robocalls and unwanted telemarketing calls to the Do Not Call Registry.Report caller ID spoofing to the Federal Communications Commission.
The summons is served upon a defendant by the sheriff of the court. When a summons is served on the defendant, it must either be served personally, or on a person who is older than 16 at the premises where the defendant is employed or resides.
But, you know, nobody says “You've been served.” You're supposed to inform them that these are legal papers, but we don't say “You've been served.” People are going to say—or not say—whatever they want, especially if they don't want to be served. So a process server doesn't have to get any verbal confirmation.
If anyone is unresponsive to a summons also known as legal notice the court would respond by or the course of action of the court would be initiating ex parte legal proceedings which would entail the plaintiff proving his claim through the legal procedure as well as by evidencing supporting his claim.
Back when I was 22, I thought it was hilarious to have a really long, complicated voice mail greeting. Now that I'm older and (arguably) wiser, I recognize that's really stupid. All your voice mail greeting needs to do is say what your firm name is, and to leave a message.
The future is here, today! Automated transcription services will run a voice message through a computer, which will spit out a transcription of the message. This is extremely useful for archiving messages -- when it works, that is. Voice recognition technology is pretty good, but not great.
And if you have a transcription service, you're also probably getting the transcription emailed to you along with the audio file of the voice mail message. Yes, I'm basically describing Google Voice, which does all of this stuff for free.
In the era of instant communication, people get antsy if you don't call back in a few hours. But the rule about phone communication is the same as it ever was: Get back to people within 24 hours on a weekday, or by Monday if the call came in over the weekend.
Finally, a bit of warning: Voice mails aren't transient. Because they're stored the same way as any bit of data, they'll be with us forever. Case in point: An associate leaves an " expletive-laden voice mail message " for another associate in a different firm. Did he really think this wouldn't get around the Internet?
You should check on the website of Maryland Judiciary Case Search to see if you have an active case. It does not sound like it is real if you are not aware of it. You may check your credit to see if there is any Identity Theft occurring in your case.
This is a common and well known collection ploy- ignore it and check the on-line Maryland Judiciary Case Search website. If there is a case in Maryland's District or Circuit Courts you will find it.
Voice mail is not much of a legal notice.. It may be a scam.. Not calling back waives no rights...
If these people are trying to collect a debt owed by the person who previously had your phone number, you could speak to them and advise them you are not the person they are looking for. You could also change your phone number. Speak to the phone company about what services may be available to block calls from unknown numbers.
Many people equate a “professional voicemail” with being polite. And that’s certainly a start. But professionalism also means paying attention to detail. Imagine if you were to leave a voicemail without mentioning any of the following:
You don’t have to be overly salesy as you use this approach. In fact, as long as you hit the major AIDA points, the formula itself will do much of the work. As for your script, just remain polite, brief, and to the point. Trust that the formula will do the rest.
The only way to help your front desk team leave HIPAA compliant voicemails is to arm them with very specific responses for a variety of scenarios so they aren’t caught off guard. To good way to do this is with scenario-based training. You can utilize the voicemail scenario below to help your team leave HIPAA compliant voicemails.
Your office receives a voicemail from a patient asking about the availability of appointment times for the coming week. She leaves a phone number so you can call her back.
It’s also vital to train your team on how to answer questions when someone calls into your office. For example, let’s say you leave a message for a patient on their voicemail regarding an appointment, asking them to call and confirm. However, instead of the patient calling back, it’s her husband asking why and for who you left the message.
If a debt collector violates the FDCPA, you can sue them for statutory damages of up to $1,000 and usually, attorney’s fees, actual damages, and court costs. To get in contact with a FDCPA attorney, complete the Free Case Evaluation Form on this page.
However, the debt collector cannot say you owe money and they cannot use the collection agency name unless the person they called requests the name. If they already know your phone number and where you live there is no need to call your relatives.
If you have past due bills, then you can expect calls from debt collectors. However, with this modern day of voicemail, it is not uncommon for the debt collectors to get your voicemail rather than a live person. There are laws in place as part of the FDCPA to protect creditors.
Debt collectors shouldn’t be contacting your family unless they are trying to learn your whereabouts or how to contact you. They can contact family members to get your phone number, residential address, or work address. However, the debt collector cannot say you owe money and they cannot use the collection agency name unless ...
There are laws in place as part of the FDCPA to protect creditors. The FDCPA does not permit debt collectors to disclose your personal information to any third party. This means that if your voicemail is shared with your family or roommates or if it is monitored by your employer, debt collectors are not allowed to leave a message.
You don’t want to have to deal with an audit from the HHS because of a HIPAA violation related to a voicemail. Learning that another patient overheard the message because your employees conducted a phone call in your waiting room would only make matters worse.
If you’re a healthcare professional, you know that sometimes patients aren’t the easiest people to contact. You would think that they’d have a sense of urgency when it comes to staying in contact, but sometimes they just don’t have time or they’re stubborn ( depending on their generation ).
This section exists to explain the importance of showing empathy and being genuine in the voicemails you leave for your patients. Yes, having a script ready just in case your client doesn’t answer their phone is something you should have. Yet, you don’t want to come off as inauthentic.
Whether a debt collector can leave a message on your answering machine depends on whether others could hear the message and what the collector said.
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