There is no question most collection agencies are ruthless in
their pursuit to collect a debt and will stop at nothing to get you
to make payment, including violating the law. The law is
fairly straight forward and the reality is, if you think a
collector has acted in a manner inconsistent with the law, then you
are more than likely right. Below is a top ten list of
conduct many consumers complain about that collection agencies are
prohibited from doing when contacting you to collect a debt and
compliance is necessary under the
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”).
- No repeated or continuous calls. A debt collector cannot
place repeated
or continuous calls to you during the course of a day or a
week. - No phone calls early in the morning or late in the
evening. A debt collector cannot call you before 8:00 a.m. or
after 9:00 p.m. - No profane or abusive language. A debt collector cannot
use profane or abusive language when communicating with you in an
effort to coerce you into paying a debt. - No calls to your place of employment. If a debt collector
contacts you at your office and you request that the collector
cease all communication
at your workplace, the collector can no longer place calls to
you there. - No communication with
family, friends, co-workers or neighbors. A debt
collector cannot communicate with anyone other than you or your
spouse regarding the debt outside of requesting location
information about you. If a debt collector speaks with anyone
regarding your whereabouts, the collector is prohibited from
discussing the debt or anything about the fact that you may owe a
debt. - Provide his or her identity including the name of the agency
the collector is calling from. A debt collector must always
identity him or herself. The collector must tell you his or
her name and the name of the collection agency he or she is calling
from. - Must cease all communication with you upon request. If
you request that no further communication be made, a debt collector
must honor your request, outside of contacting you in relation to a
lawsuit. - Must not misrepresent the amount of the debt. A debt
collector must be up front and honest about the amount of the debt
owed. A collector cannot add interest or fees that are not
allowed by the initial contract. - Must send written communication of the debt. Within five
days of the initial verbal communication, a debt collector must
send a collection letter with the amount of the debt owed and the
name of the original creditor. Also included in this letter
must be the statement that “This is an attempt to collect a debt”
and notice that you have the right to dispute your debt within 30
days of receipt of the letter. - Must verify all disputed debts. If a
collector receives a dispute letter, the collector must cease
all collection efforts and verify the validity of the debt at your
request.
If you have a debt collector contacting you and feel any one of
your rights have been violated, contact
SmithMarco P.C. for a completely free
case review.