Every day thousands of consumers are harassed by debt collectors and many of them have their rights violated by these collectors. The good news is that you can use those violations to have the debts eliminated and your credit repaired in the process.
If you know the law, your credit repair process won’t have to rely on generic dispute letters or luck. Let the debt collectors do it for you and you can have your credit repaired, legally and permanently.
Here is how…
Debt collectors are governed by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). One section of the Act clearly states consumers cannot be contacted at inappropriate places – like work. I can’t tell you how many collection agents violate this section of the law.
There is a caveat however. They may contact your work unless they know your employer does not allow it. Simply write the debt collector notifying them that you cannot be contacted at work and make sure you send it Certified mail, return receipt requested.
Should they contact you at work after that, they are in violation of the FDCPA and in a position where negotiation of the debt is usually a piece of cake.
Why these mistakes are common Most debt collector’s phone systems are set up on an automated dialing system. These systems handle thousands of client cases. When your name comes up, the computer automatically dials the numbers it has on file. When you put in a special request (like not calling your work) your file has to be pulled manually and dialed by hand. This rarely happens and therefore, violations commonly occur and leaving the door wide open for you to sue to have it removed.
Negotiate to delete the trade line for their violation Once the debt collector has violated your rights, simply send a letter with a copy of the following.
• The copy of your original letter where you said you could not be contacted at work • A copy of the Certified Mail receipt you received which is proof they were notified • A new letter demanding a deletion of the trade line from your credit report. You may include that you intend to file complaints with the FTC, BBB, Attorney General and you can add tat you intend to sue for damages as well.
You will find, once they are caught red handed, negotiations become very easy.
Marc Chase is a Partner at MyCreditGroup.Com – A nationally recognized authority on credit report repair. His company is used by agencies such as The Department of Defense, Washington Mutual, Country Wide bank and they have been featured in several prestigious newspapers as “one of the few true authorities on credit repair” Visit his site at http://www.mycreditgroup.com
