South Bay Collections called my elderly mom about my debt. Is that allowed?
Quote from gavahet792 on April 26, 2026, 9:20 amI am absolutely livid right now. I have an old debt that I think South Bay Collections bought. I've been avoiding their calls because I can't afford to pay right now, but I never expected this.
Yesterday, my 70 year old mom called me crying. She said a rude man called her phone, identified himself by name, and told her that I owed a debt and that "someone needs to pay this before legal action is taken." He asked her for my address and my work number. She was terrified and embarrassed.
I thought debt collectors couldn't discuss your debt with other people. I never gave them permission to call her. She doesn't even live with me. I feel sick that they dragged her into this.
To make it worse, I've been getting calls at all hours too. Early mornings, late nights, sometimes 8 times a day. I never received a letter from them when they first started calling. No written notice, no validation of the debt. Just non stop calls and now this.
I looked up whether they are allowed to do this and found out that discussing my debt with my mom is a huge no no under federal law. They also aren't supposed to call before 8 AM or after 9 PM, which they definitely do.
Has anyone else had South Bay Collections contact their family? How did you handle it? I'm thinking about taking action because I can't let them harass my mom like that.
Here is the article that helped me understand my rights:
https://protectionforconsumers.com/stop-south-bay-collections-debt-collection-phone-harassment/
I am absolutely livid right now. I have an old debt that I think South Bay Collections bought. I've been avoiding their calls because I can't afford to pay right now, but I never expected this.
Yesterday, my 70 year old mom called me crying. She said a rude man called her phone, identified himself by name, and told her that I owed a debt and that "someone needs to pay this before legal action is taken." He asked her for my address and my work number. She was terrified and embarrassed.
I thought debt collectors couldn't discuss your debt with other people. I never gave them permission to call her. She doesn't even live with me. I feel sick that they dragged her into this.
To make it worse, I've been getting calls at all hours too. Early mornings, late nights, sometimes 8 times a day. I never received a letter from them when they first started calling. No written notice, no validation of the debt. Just non stop calls and now this.
I looked up whether they are allowed to do this and found out that discussing my debt with my mom is a huge no no under federal law. They also aren't supposed to call before 8 AM or after 9 PM, which they definitely do.
Has anyone else had South Bay Collections contact their family? How did you handle it? I'm thinking about taking action because I can't let them harass my mom like that.
Here is the article that helped me understand my rights:
https://protectionforconsumers.com/stop-south-bay-collections-debt-collection-phone-harassment/