subject: Dealing with creditor harassment [print this page] Dealing with creditor harassment Dealing with creditor harassment
Creditor harassment ranges from incessant calls at odd hours, to illegal tactics for intimidating the debtor with personal attacks. Enduring all these with fear will only cause your creditor to continue with their pestering. Therefore it is very important for you to handle your creditors strictly if you have the slightest feeling that their activities are simply bordering on harassment.
The key step to subdue the creditors and debt collectors is to have a proper awareness of your consumer rights. You must know what you are equipped with. The FDCPA and your state law give you the right to sue your creditors and debt collectors if their conduct is not in accordance with the provisions of the law.
To start with, you must be aware of the FDCPA provisions. You can get several websites offering FDCPA guidelines on the internet. All you need to do is google "FDCPA" and get yourself updated. That would surely help you know how to point out illegal practices carried out by your creditors and debt collectors. It may even happen that you are contacted regarding a debt that you do not owe. In that case, it is quite likely that your identity has been theft. Do not hesitate to convey to the creditor about the mistaken identity. Try and convince him politely initially. If good words fail, take action; lodge your complaint with the FTC.
Start maintaining a file, right from the very first time the debt collector contacts you. Carefully extract the following information from the debt collector when he communicates with you:
Name of the debt collector, Name of the agency, the collector is coming from, Name of the creditor, Phone/fax numbers and other contact details of the agency.
Keep track of all the dates and times, the debt collector calls you. Keep the recorded messages left by the collector in your phone. Also store every copy of correspondence you send and receive via normal as well as e-mail. Keep note of conversations you had with the collector as well. Within five days of a phone conversation, debt collectors must contact you by mail. You can request the debt collector that all future correspondences be in writing.
You can also request that you do not want to be contacted during certain hours or when you are at work. You may even express your wish of ceasing all communication. In all of these cases, the debt collector must comply with your request; otherwise you have the right to lodge a complaint with the FTC against the collector. However, make sure your privacy requests are always in writing. That would corroborate your stance in case of any future complication. Here it is important to remember, that after your notification to the collectors, they are entitled to contact you only one once, in order to inform you how they intend to proceed with your case.
Finally, all your debt collection complaints, you are lodging with the FTC, must also be in writing. Do not forget to send the copies of your complaints to both the creditor as well as the collection agency via Certified Mail. The complaint must include a detailed description of all the harassments you have faced. Besides, it is also advised that you consult an FDCPA lawyer, before you lodge your complaint and strengthen your legal ground.
