As American consumers, you have rights. The
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a Federal law passed to
protect debtors from harassing, abusive or unethical bill recovery
efforts. In other words, if you are being harassed in
any way, you can sue the collector and recovery up to $1000 for
violations. One consumer in Nebraska decided to turn the
tables on collectors and was happy with the results. Read about him.
What are some violations?
- Failure to properly identify
themselves. The collectors must identify who they are and
advise the consumer at each and every communication that the
communication is coming from a
debt collector. In the first communication, the collector
must also inform the consumer that any information obtained will be
used for purposes of debt collection. - Calling at work after you tell the collector you can not
receive calls at work. You must tell them you can not
accept calls at
work. - Threatening to arrest you or file criminal charges. You
can not be arrested or charged with a crime for failing to pay a
debt. This is false, misleading and deceptive. - Calling
your friends, family or work and discussing your debt. - Call before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. or at any time or that
they are given notice that it is inconvenient to call - Using profanities or language that is harassing and
abusive - Engage in any conduct, the natural consequence of which is to
harass, abuse or oppress. - Make any misrepresentations of fact, such as how much is owed,
or certain actions they may take to force payment - Send
false information to the credit bureaus. - Cause a telephone to ring an
unreasonable amount of times. You need to pick up these
calls at some point and tell them to stop calling. If they
leave messages, save them. Also, it is recommended to keep a
log of the calls and/or take photos of the caller
identification.
What if I do not have money to hire an
attorney?
- Call or contact our website for a free
consultation. You will not have to pay any out of pocket costs to
pursue your case. The statute provides that if you win, then
the defendant has to pay the attorneys’ fees. If you hire the
right firm, they will waive the fees if you lose. That is the
way to help consumers. - SmithMarco has been helping consumers since 2005. Check
out what other consumers say about this
firm or contact us for a free
consultation by calling or using our website.
What can I do to stop these collectors?
- Start keeping track of the calls.
- Take photos of the caller identifications or screen shots.
- Save all voicemail messages.
- Save collection
letters. - Call for a free
consultation.
Why should I take action?
Because you can! You can stop the calls and stop the
harassing. Even if you can’t resolve the debt, at
least you can make steps toward making your life better. Read about others.