Christian Debt Recovery

Debt Verification Letter Collection Agency

December 29th, 2008 |

Author: Gavin

Consumer Rights Against Debt Collectors: Yes, You Have Rights!

Just because you owe money doesn’t mean that you have no rights. Those rights are guaranteed and backed with the full force of law in the Fair Debt collection Practices Act (FDCPA) which was signed into law in 1978.

Daily, people are harassed and abused by debt collectors and harried into paying money that they cannot afford to pay, neglecting other expenses such as rent, because they do not know their rights.

Under the FDCPA, debt collectors may not, under any circumstances do the following:

Call you outside the hours of 8 to 9 PM, your time. This means that if you’re on the West coast, and the debt collector is on the East cost, if he calls you at 8AM his time, he is violating the FDCPA, because you would be receiving the call at 5AM your time.
Keep calling you after receiving a cease and desist letter. If you inform the collection agency in writing that you do not wish any further contact by phone, the collection agency must stop calling you. In fact, you can tell them to stop contacting you, period. If you do this, the only communication a collector may have with you is to send you a letter informing you that collection efforts have terminated or that a lawsuit will be filed.
Harass you with repeated phone calls. If a single debt collector repeatedly calls you numerous times in a single day, they are violating the FDCPA because they are attempting to annoy you in paying up.
Call you at work after you have told them not to do so or that your employer does not allow you to receive personal calls.
Contact you if you have an attorney and they know you have an attorney. If you have an attorney, then all contact MUST be made through your legal representative.
Continue to attempt to collect from you during the debt validation process, that is during that 30 day period during which the debt collector must verify the debt. During the debt validation process, all collection activity must cease. That means no phone calls, no letters, nothing.
This one should be obvious and it is pretty sad that the government had to specifically include this in the law, but debt collectors are not allowed to lie in order to collect. It gets more specific than that: they aren’t allowed to pass themselves off as law enforcement or attorneys.
Along those same lines, collection agencies can’t threaten that you’ll be arrested if you don’t pay, or that you’re about to be sued when in fact, you are not.
Debt collectors may not inflate the balance owing with fees that have no merit or basis in your contract with the original creditor. This is why it is so important that you verify the debt before you even think about paying it or settling it.
Use profanity or abusive language. Debt collectors cannot swear at you and in general browbeat you in order to effect payment. Sadly, many still do, but you don’t have to take it.
Discuss the nature of your debt with third parties, other than your spouse or attorney. Collectors can’t call your Aunt Nelly and tell her how much money you owe or reveal any personal details about your account.

In addition to the things collectors may not do, the FDCPA requires that debt collectors do some very specific things when trying to collect from you.

They must identify themselves as debt collectors and that any information you give them will be used to collect. This is the reason that you see the language “this is an attempt to collect a debt and any information gained will be used for that purpose” on dunning letters and is often included in the spiel the collector launches into when he calls you.
Tell you who the original creditor is when you ask for it in writing and within 30 days of receiving your request. As part of verification of the debt, you have the right to know the name of the original creditor and what’s more, you have the right to know the original balance.
Tell you that you have the right to dispute the debt, whether in part or in full.
If a lawsuit is to be filed it should be in the proper venue, that is normally where you live. The collection agency can’t file suit in Hoboken, New Jersey if you live in Petaluma, California.

Once again, just because you may owe money doesn’t mean you don’t have rights and choices. The law protects you and ensures that debt collectors must deal with you fairly. If you encounter a debt collector who does not abide by the above limitations, then, at the very least, report him to the FTC.

About the Author

Just because you owe money doesn’t mean you have no rights and choices. A credit counseling/debt management agency can help you make the right choices for your debt situation.