Once you're past due on a payment, you may start receiving collection calls. Once the debt goes into debt collection, collection tactics step up and can feel harassing. While creditors have the right to attempt to collect the money you owe them, it is illegal for them to engage in abusive, harassing behavior, and to use other tactics that are prohibited in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
Here are five of the most common violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that debt collectors attempt to get away with:
1. Harassing phone calls. Calling before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. or numerous times throughout the day, every day, especially at dinnertime, is illegal. Although it's legal for a debt collector to call you in an attempt to collect their debt, they are only allowed to call at certain times of the day. What is more subjective, but can clearly be defined as harassment, are multiple calls throughout the day.
2. Verbal abuse or threats. Meant to intimidate and demean you, threats of violence, abusive language, or of threatening to take property that is not being used as debt collateral, are against the law.
3. Pretending to represent that they are a government official or an attorney. When they contact you in writing or by phone, debt collectors must be upfront and announce who they are and inform you that they are attempting to contact you regarding a debt. If they fail to do that, or if they pretend they are someone else, they are breaking the law.
4. Attempting to collect more than you owe. A debt collector may attach any additional fees, interest, or increase the amount of the debt they are collecting. A common practice is to attempt to collect a "collection fee," which is not allowed.
5. Contacting you once you've written to ask a debt collector to stop. By law, if you've written a letter asking them to cease communication with you, a debt collector cannot contact you again in writing, by phone, or by email except to inform you if they've stopped trying to collect the debt, or if they have decided to step up the collection process through and attorney, the courts or another means.
Here's a sample debt collector letter for you to use in order to put a stop to debt collection calls.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act specifies, "A debt collector may not use unfair or unconscionable means to collect or attempt to collect any debt." The act doesn't erase your debt - you are still responsible to pay what you owe - but it does provide a clear line that separates ethical behavior from unethical behavior by debt collectors.
If a debt collector violated the law with any of these behaviors or others, the attorneys at the Carman Law Firm, P.A. will help. We don't believe that debt collectors have the right to harass or abuse our clients, and will work hard to stop them from hurting people in the future, and to help you by providing the guidance you need, and by getting you the compensation you deserve.