subject: You Don't Have To Deal With Collection Harrassment [print this page] It's happened to the best of usIt's happened to the best of us. You've got bill collectors calling you all hours of the day and night, hounding you, harassing you, threatening you with violence and law suits. Some have even been swearing at you and telling you you're irresponsible. The are generally making your life even more difficult to live than it already is.
You are not alone. Debt collection harassment is not uncommon. Creditors can be compared to the shark in the movie called Jaws. The phone rings, and suddenly you're looking for somewhere to hide or something to cling to so that you can weather the worst of it while sustaining as little damage as possible.
Don't fret. Believe it or not, the law is on your side and you can stop debt collection harassment. But first you need to be educated on the rights you have as a consumer under the FDCPA. This way, at least you can breathe easy knowing that you can take control.
FDCPA stands for Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. It was added in 1978 to protect consumers from unfair practices among debt collectors. You'd be quite surprised to find out what is and is not allowed under this act. Going over the most commonly used tactics will help you to take appropriate action against creditor harassment.
If you've ever had bill collectors call you at work, you know the embarrassment and rage that can ensue. Likely the creditor told whoever picked up the phone that you owe them money. This is a violation of the FDCPA. Creditors are not allowed to disclose to any third party, family, friends or coworkers, that you owe them any type of money.
Additionally, bill collectors are not allowed to continually call you at work after you've specified that they can't, no matter what the reason. Calling you before 8am or after 9pm in your time zone is also prohibited. Some other common tactics bill collectors use are trying to collect more money that what you owe them, and threatening to sue you when they're not an attorney, They may lie to you, telling you that refusing to pay them will result in wage garnishment or going to jail.
They may even resort to swearing at you or using inappropriate language, threatening violence, or calling you without revealing their identity. Likely you've been through one, if not many of these tactics and have not even realized they are against the law. Contact an FDCPA attorney. Do this as soon as possible.
You'll need information, such as the collection agency's name, number and the name of any person or people that have been trying to get in contact with you. Once you have an attorney, it's illegal for bill collectors to continue to try to contact you. If they want anything done, they have to go through your attorney. Now you can breathe easy for a little while and you might even want to plug your phone back in.
