Fair Debt Collection Practice
Act (FDCPA)
In 1970 the Fair Debt
Collection Practices Act became law. Its purpose is to prevent
abusive, deceptive and unfair debt collection practices by
debt collectors.
Questions: Rights and the Fair Debt Collection
Act:
What debts does FDCPA cover?
Covered debts by FDCPA include family,
personal, or your household dues. These dues cover motor
vehicle charges, purchases, charge accounts and health
care.
What is a debt collection agency or
collector?
Attorneys or anyone that
collects debt from debtors legally qualified is deemed debt
collectors. These people are paid commissions to collect debt
owed. You want to learn more about these agencies, since many
have unlawfully pressured debtors. Learn your rights.
What methods do debt
collectors take to contact debtors?
Debt collectors have the
right to make personal contact with you. The collector may
call you on the phone, write you a letter, telegram, or fax
you. The debt collectors however, DO NOT have legal right to
contact you at inconvenient places or time. (E.g.,
anytime before 8am or anytime after 9pm if your boss at the
workplace prohibits contact of collectors, thus the collector
cannot visit your workplace.
NOTE: Debt collectors do not have the right to
threaten you, nor call you if any of your debts are in
dispute, or anytime you are making efforts to pay your debt
through counseling services, etc.
How can
debtors stop collectors from contacting them?
Write the collectors a written
letter and ask them to cease calling, or contacting you. Once
this letter arrives at their desk, they do not have legal
right to contact you again, only to let you know you will not
receive farther contact from that company. This means the
company cannot contact you even to let you know that one of
your creditors is attempting to take particular actions to
recover the debt.
NOTE:
Despite your
efforts to stop collectors from contacting you, it does not
mean that these companies will not take actions to recover any
debt owed by you.
Can debt collectors inquire from others about my
debt?
A debt collector is obligating
to contact your lawyer if you have one. Debt collectors cannot
call you if you have an attorney. If you do not have a lawyer,
debt collectors may phone others to learn your phone number,
employment location, or home location. Debt collectors
commonly only contact third parties one time. Most times, they
will work with your lawyer or you directly.
What obligations
do debt collectors have to inform debtors of their debts owed?
Debt collectors on contacting you has
"five" business days to send you a written warning. The
warning will address the sum owed by you, creditors name the
money is owed to, and actions you can take if you think that
you do not owe this debt.
What if I do not owe debt, can debt collectors
contact me?
No, if you have mailed a
correspondence to the bureau affirming that you do not owe a
balance to this creditor(s), thus collectors do not have
the legal right to contact you, "30-days" past you receiving
the code notice.
Nevertheless, a collector could reaffirm
register activities if you are transported proof of the debt,
such as a representation of the invoice for the sum owed by
you.
Are
there other prohibitions regarding debt collections and the
actions they take these debtors should be aware of?
Yes, debt agencies cannot
coerce, harass, verbal abuse, mental, physically abuse you, or
threaten you, or any other person they may contact, such as a
relative or friend regarding you.
Your, Rights:
If a debt
collector threatens you mentally, physically or verbally you
have the right to file charges against this person.
- if a debt collection agency posts your
name publicly and the debts you owe, you have a right to file
a complaint. This is an unlawful act. The collection agencies
only have the right to report any debts owed by you to the
credit bureaus, such as TransUnion.
-If a debt collector makes obscene or else uses
profanity, you have the right to file a complaint against this
person. You have the right to file a complaint if the debt
collector repetitively uses the phone, harassing or annoying
you.
-You have the right to file a complaint if the
debt collector makes false claims against you. When collecting
debts, a debt collector is illegal when he makes any
misleading or false statements against you.
1. Debt
collectors cannot falsely implicate or act as government or
lawyers, etc
2. Fallaciously accuse you of committing a
crime
3. Fallaciously implicate or act as a representation
from any credit bureau
4. Deceitfully lie about the amount
you owe
5. Deceitfully portend that legal letters are sent
to you
6. Make
claims that legal letters are not officially authorized
Additional rights:
You
have the right to file a complaint against any debt collector
that:
-Threatens to have you arrested if you fail to
pay the debt
-Any debt collector threatening to seize,
attach, garnish, sell wages/mortgage, etc or threatens lawsuit
when no legal action has occurred
-Falsely give personal information to credit
bureaus or any other third party
-Send fake official letters from courts, or
government
-Use fake names
Debt collectors may not use unfair practices
such as:
-Charge more than you owe, unless state laws
says otherwise
-Deposit post-dated checks in advance
-Lie to con you into paying for telegrams or
collect phone calls
- Threaten to seize your assets without
legal rights, Contact you via postcard
Knowing your control
over debts and payments:
You have the right to indicate
which debt you wish to pay on the balance
Debt collectors do not have legal right
to make payments toward any debts you feel are not yours.
What measures should I take if a debt
collection agency violates the law?
You can sue this
agency by taking them to federal or state court. You have one
year to sue after the violation occurs. If the judge deems the
collector wrong, you may recover any monies or damages you
sustained, as well as another thousand. The court will issue
them to reimburse your for any attorney or court costs as
well. Groups have the right to sue as well.
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