Knowing You're Rights When In Debt

Are you bothered by creditors who constantly remind you of your past due debts

? Would you like to be free from stressful contacts with your creditors? Are you aware of your rights as a borrower? This article focuses on the consumer rights included in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Hopefully, by the end of this article, you'll be able to take the proper action against creditors who may be violating your rights as a borrower.

Stop Your Creditors

Can you really stop your creditors from collecting the debts you owe? According to the Federal Law, you can stop a creditor from making further attempts to contact you about your debts. How is this done? Send a letter to your creditor or the collection agency advising them to stop contacting you about your debts. However, take note that this doesn't change the fact that you have unpaid debts to pay.

You are under the obligation to pay back what you owe, and although a creditor may have stopped contacting you after you sent your letter, a creditor can still take legal action against you if you fail to make your payments. Yes, you can be sued if you ignore your responsibility to your lender.

Limitations of Your Creditors

Are you being represented by an attorney? If yes, then collection agencies should be directly contacting you about your debts. Instead, the debt agency should be collecting your debts through your lawyer. If your creditor continues to contact you despite your advice to contact your lawyer, you can report it to the Federal Trade Commission.

What other violations can be committed by your debt collection agency? Here are some of the violations listed in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that you should be aware of:

- Calling you before 8 am or past 9 pm. You can only be contacted between 9pm to 8am if you gave your consent.

- Using foul or obscene languages in any form- verbal or written.

- Using threats to force you to pay.

- Using false information to scare you. If your creditor says a legal suit has already been filed against you or that your property will be taken away if your refuse to pay immediately, check the accuracy of this statement and if it's lie, file a complaint right away.

- Contacting a third party and disclosing about your debts. A creditor can contact a third party only to ask about your contact details and never to disclose any detail about your debts.

- Resort to media to publicize your debts

These are just some of the most common violations that you may experience from a debt collection agency or a creditor. The complete list of unfair debt collection practices can be found from the FTC's website.

What can you do to protect your rights? You can report it to the Attorney General's Office in your state so that the appropriate action can be taken. You can also file a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission by visiting www.ftc.gov. If the FTC receives a considerable number of complaints against a particular debt collection agency, it has the power to completely shut down the agency.

by: Melanie James

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