- Discuss details about a consumer’s debt to a third party, such as relatives, employers, neighbors, etc.
- Send postcards
- Communicate more than once with third parties about contacting the consumer
- Use language on the outside of mailed correspondence which identifies that the mailing is in regards to a debt collection or that the mailing is from a debt collector
- Communicate with the consumer or third parties after notification that the consumer is represented by an attorney; All communications must occur through the attorney
- Contact the consumer regarding the debt before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m., in the consumer’s time zone
- Contact the consumer at his or her place of employment, after being told not to
- Contact the consumer about the debt after receiving written notification by the consumer to cease contact; Afterwards, the debt collector can contact the consumer only to give notice of further legal action, like lawsuit.
- Engage in behavior that is meant to harass, oppress, or abuse the consumer
- Use threat of physical violence, harm to reputation, or property damage
- Use profane, obscene, or abusive language in communications with the consumer (for example, threatening to shoot your dog)
- Publish a list of the names of consumers that have not paid their debts, except to a consumer credit reporting agency, such as Equifax.
- Cause a consumer’s phone to continually ring in order to annoy or harass
- Misrepresent that the debt collector is a law firm, affiliated with law enforcement, and/or the government
- Misrepresent the nature, status, and amount of debts (For example, claim that a consumer owes a debt when in reality, the consumer does not owe a debt)
- Tell a consumer that he or she will be arrested for not paying the debt (debtor’s prison does not exist in the United States)
- Threaten to seize property or garnish wages unless it is intended through a legal process
- Distribute a misleading or phony legal document regarding the debt or misrepresent that a document is authorized by the government or court system ( example, a phony summons, search warrant)
- Collect amounts besides the amount of the original debt and lawful interest and fees
- Coerce consumers to submit postdated checks
If you feel that you are being harassed by a debt collector, get the name of that collector. Also, save any harassing messages or correspondence received. Next, contact an attorney that deals with harassment by debt collectors. Then, you can determine whether you should file a lawsuit against the debt collector and a formal complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. If the debt collector is found to be in violation of the FDCPA, you may be able to get damages, attorneys fees, and costs in a lawsuit, plus the FTC could impose a fine on the debt collector. Please be aware that this law does not apply to in house collectors working for original creditors. You might want to check your state statutes to learn what your rights are when it comes to in house collection from the orginal creditor. There are some other areas of this law that I didn’t summarize here. You can read more about the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act at ftc.gov.
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