There are many reasons why a person may have fallen behind on there bills. Most of them are good honest reasons. But just because you fall behind in your bills doesn’t mean you should be harassed, intimidated or even embarrassed by debt collectors
I would like to state that not all debt collectors are bad debt collectors. Most debt collectors are good people doing a tuff job. But that said there are many dishonest collection firms out there. And when you’re in debt the last thing you want is to be hounded by unscrupulous people trying to get as much money out of you as they can. Any way they can.
Your best defense against dishonest collection firms is knowledge. As the saying goes knowledge is power. I my self have been the victim of Identity theft and have had to deal with a couple of unruly collection firms in my day. So this article talks about some of the things I learned along the way.
First off you should know that the law is on your side. That is the side of the consumer. Federal and state laws are written to protect you from collection scams, dishonest collection firms, protect your privacy and make sure you are treated decently.
Most likely the first question on your mind is how can I stop the phone calls. Yes, you can stop the phone calls. All you need to do to stop the phone calls is to send a letter to the collection firm asking them to stop. It is that simple. According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act once a debt collector receives your letter they can not contact you except to say they will stop contacting you or to let you know they intend to take a specific action like a law suite. You should remember that just because they stop calling does not mean that the debt goes away. It’s still there, they just stop calling.
Being in debt can be embarrassing. Most people are not eager to have there friends or family member know that they have fallen behind. In general state and federal laws prohibit debt collectors from talking to other people about your debt. In some cases a debt collector can contact other people but only to find out where you live, what your phone number is, and where you work. In general debt collectors are not allow to talk about your debt to other people except your lawyer or with your permission. Debt collectors are also prohibited from contacting you while you are at work if they know that you can’t take calls at work.
The next thing I would like to talk about is harassment. Harassment is when a debt collector threatens you, uses obscene language or repeatedly uses the telephone to annoy you. All of these activities are illegal. In these cases it is best that you requested by letter that the agency stop contacting you. If they continue you should file a complete with your states attorney general and the Federal Trade Commission. Your states attorney generals office may even be able to direct you to an advocate who can help guide you through your situation.
Debt collectors are also prohibited from making false statements. A false statement can be when a collector represents or implies that they are attorneys or government representatives or falsely imply that you have committed a crime. A collector is also not allowed to tell you that they are sending you legal forms when they are not legal form or to tell you that forms or paper work are not legal forms when they are. Debt collectors can not tell you that you will be arrested if you do not pay your debt.
Ok so now you have some more knowledge. What can you do with it? First of all you can stop the annoying and sometimes harassing phone calls. You should also know that you can take action against the collection firm.
If you believe that a debt collection agency has violated the law the first thing you should do is to file a complete with your attorney generals office and the Federal Trade Commission. Second you should know that you have the right to sue a collection agency if they have violated that law. You have up to one year after the violation was made to file a law suite. If you win you can receive money for damages plus up to $1,000. You can also recover court costs and any attorney’s fees. I am not a lawyer and you should always consult a lawyer before taking any legal action.
Now that you have some more knowledge I hope you will be able to better advocate for your self and help you deal unscrupulous collection firms.
If you would like more information on Credit law, Credit reports, Credit fraud or ways you can manage and get out of your debt you should visit Kissed by fire
