Understand Your Rights: Illegal Debt Collection Practices

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act exists to protect consumers from predatory and illegal debt collection techniques

. No matter how much money a consumer owes, any collection efforts need to follow the rules outlined in the FDCPA. The FDCPA protects consumers by making various types of harassment illegal and by requiring collectors to furnish specific types of information every time they contact a consumer.

The rules that make up the FDCPA include strict guidelines as to when and how a collector can contact consumers to pursue a debt. Debt collector laws cover a broad range of offensives, including:

* Call frequency: A debt collector is prohibited from calling a consumer over and over again in a single day, simply to harass them. A collector is also barred from calling a consumer at all during the 30-day debt validation period once the consumer asks for proof or validation of the debt.

* Call timing: The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act bars collectors from calling consumers before and after certain times of the day. No matter where the collection company is located, they can't contact a consumer before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. in the consumer's time zone.

* Making outlandish threats: Debt collectors can't threaten consumers with arrest, "debtor's prison" or other illegal actions. They are also prohibited from threatening to repossess or take random items to help satisfy the debt.

* Publicizing the debt: A debt collector is prohibited from spreading news of the debt in a manner designed to embarrass the consumer. Postcards and other "open" methods of communication by mail are forbidden, as are flyers and other published attempts.

* Contacting third parties: A debt collector is allowed to speak to the consumer's lawyer or spouse, but they can't discuss or disclose the details of the debt with other people.

* Maintaining contact without permission: Once a debt collector has been notified that calls are not acceptable (through a cease and desist letter), they must cease attempting to contact the consumer by phone.

In addition to making harassment illegal, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act outlines the steps collection agencies must take when interacting with consumers, including:

* Provide identification: In every communication, the debt collector is required to disclose the fact that they are collecting a debt and that any information disclosed can be used to collect that debt.

* Remind the consumer of their rights: It may be printed in very small type, but every notice or call from a debt collection agency needs to advice the consumer of their right to validate and dispute the debt.

* Provide information: The debt collector is required to provide information about the original debt, including the contact information of the original creditor. This information may not be included in every notice, but it must be furnished upon request.

Debt collection agencies that violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act can be sued by consumers. Proof of the violation is generally needed, and the collector can be sued in Federal court. In addition to lawsuits, debt collection companies that violate the FDCPA can be reported to and sanctioned by the Federal Trade Commission.

by: Sergei Lemberg

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