Everyone gets behind on their bills once in a while but that does not mean you should be subject to ruthless and abusive debt collectors. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission, prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair or even deceptive practices in order to collect a debt from you. Now just because the FDCPA protects you from abusive collectors, that doesn’t mean that you no longer owe the debt to your creditor. The FDCPA protects consumers from anyone who collects debts on a regular basis, whether it be a collection agency or a lawyer that does that as part of his or her practice, but it only covers personal and household debts and does not include money owed from a business.
There are a few specific activities that a debt collector cannot partake in when attempting to collect a debt from you. First, debt collectors are only allowed to contact you from 8AM-9PM and not at your place of employment if you tell them you cannot take phone calls their. It is suggested that if you get a call from a debt collector that you listen to them at least once to make sure the debt is valid and to see if you can settle the debt in a reasonable way. If you do not want to have the debt collector contact you again, then you can simply ask them not to. After the call, send them a certified letter confirming that you no longer want to speak with them and they are no longer allowed to contact you. Be aware that this does not relieve your responsibilities for this debt, it will stop the harassing phone calls.
There are a number of activities that debt collectors are not allowed to partake in:
- Harassment - Debt collectors may not harass or abuse you or any third parties they contact on behalf of your debt
- Make False statements - Debt collectors may not lie when they are trying to collect a debt in order to coerce you to pay the debt
- Debt collectors also are prohibited from saying that you will be arrested or your wages will be garnished if you do not pay.
- Debt collectors may not lie to you or give you false information about the debt or what may occur if you do not pay the debt.
- Debt collectors may not engage in unfair practices such as lowering their fees unless allowed by their state agency or depositing a post dated check early.
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Also, a debt collector cannot garnish your wages but they can sue you in court in order to collect the debt. If they sue you and win the case then the court can garnish your wages if decided to by the judge. All the activities that the FDCPA prohibits do not relieve your debt. Basically, debt collectors have a job to do and you owe money but the
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act protects you from unfair and abusive practices.
To report unfair practices by a
debt collector, go to the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov)
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