You pay a bill or settle an obligation in full between yourself or your company and a third party collection agency offering you a reasonably negotiated settlement.

In the case where an agency (not the one you paid the old bill and settled it) attempts to collect an already paid up bill, or an account settled for an amount all parties approved, you paid and funds cleared.

The new agency that keeps calling you claims authority to demand payment for the bill – that bill you know you settled a while back.

Now it may just be that some vendor such as a mobile phone provider, a bank or financial institution sold what is called ‘non-performing paper’ or delinquent accounts receivable to a third party.

Meanwhile you are hunting around for your paper copy of the paid bill, the actual check the bank processed, a money order stub, something to prove you paid and to stop the agency from calling you daily. Ask for the customer service representative or collector’s name before you go further, if they hang up you can complain about them to their superior.

Then ask for the collection agency’s fax number specifically for the purpose of demanding that they cease and desist from calling you any longer effective immediately upon receipt of the facsimile. You may get some attitude from the person on the other side, at which point you need to ask to speak with their supervisor but first… ask the customer service representative for their name in case they hang up on you.

Most of the time you should not push the actual collector to stop calling but rather say: “I do not want to waste your time or mine as I cannot pay this bill until…” whatever calendar week you believe you can make a payment or simply say you cannot pay due to this that or the other reason and you want their firm to stop calling you effective immediately.

When you send the fax cover alone or a letter with it demanding they stop calling you state there that you are sending a copy to the attorney general of your state. As in any official business correspondence you need to put the acronym — for example — cc: Office of the Attorney General of New York State.

That carbon copy as it were, adds a level of seriousness to your correspondence and indicates you mean business and are not to be trifled with.

So to summarize you can demand that a collection agency cease and desist from calling you, they can still make written demand as long as they abide by the applicable Civil Practice Law and Rules.

This tip was contributed by Credit Resolution an agency specializing in large balance collection, corporate workouts and post judgment asset discovery and recovery since 1986.