If you are being harassed by
collectors you will be happy to know that there is protection
provided for you under the federal Fair Debt Collection Act, and many
states provide additional protections for their residents (not
discussed here). If your debt is for household, family or personal
spending this act protects you from harassment by third party
collectors.
Collectors are allowed to contact you
between the hours of 8am and 9pm (your time). Also, if you inform
them that they are calling at a time that is not convenient for you
they must stop calling at that time. If a collector contacts you at
work you may inform them that you are not allowed to take calls at
work. They must stop contacting you. If they call you on your cell
phone, you may inform them that they are calling on a cell phone, it
is costing you money to receive these calls and they must stop
calling that number.
When
trying to locate you, your collectors can
contact friends, family members or neighbors to inquire about your
location. They cannot,
unless expressly asked, disclose that they are from a collection
agency, additionally, they can't call the same person twice without
that individuals permission or reasonable probability that the
individual has more necessary information. Without your permission
the collector cannot try to collect through anybody but you, your
spouse or your co-debtors.
When a collector calls, they cannot
misrepresent themselves as being affiliated with a different agency
or the government. They must inform you if the call is being recorded
or monitored (it almost always is). They cannot exaggerate the debt
or its legal status. They cannot threaten legal action they have no
intention of taking or mislead you about the legal nature of any
forms. They cannot threaten to sell the debt to induce payment. They
cannot threaten violence or other criminal action against you (this
includes harm to your reputation or property), nor can they use
abusive language or call repetitiously.
In most cases it is necessary to
request that a collector cease communication with you in writing (we
will soon have a link to a sample letter). Alternatively, you can
hire an attorney. After contact has been made with the collector you
will likely continue to receive a statement of account and or updates
as to the legal status of your account. These are for information
only and are permitted under the law; they cannot send further
collection letters. The debt will most likely be sold to a new
collector at some point who will send new collection letters, making
it necessary to repeat the procedure.
In our experience at HELPS Nonprofit
Law Firm, letters sent by individuals are often ignored. Letters from
an attorney are usually taken more seriously and calls stop after
they receive our letter.
HELPS provides a service: sending out
cease and desist letters and dealing with the probing calls from
collectors. As long as we are kept up to date with information about
any new collectors who contact you, we will continue to send letters
to your creditors for you. This is a multiple year process that
quickly becomes tiresome for most people. For those who find it
confusing, exhausting, or overwhelming; we are happy to help restore
peace to their lives, stopping collector harassment and seniors well
informed about their rights are in regards to their creditors.
