Debt Collector Contacts

A debt collector may contact you over the telephone, by mail, in person, or by fax. The debt collector cannot call you at unreasonable times or places. Typically, this means that they should not call you before 8:00 a.m. in the morning or after 9:00 p.m. at night unless you agree to let them call you at those hours. A debt collector may call you at work unless you let them know that their employer disapproves of this. If you do get contacted at work, immediately notify the debt collector if your employer prohibits this.

Stopping contacts from debt collectors

You can request that the collector stop contacting you.  It is recommended that you do this by writing a letter to the debt collection agency in addition to telling them over the telephone. Make sure you keep a copy of this letter for your own records. When the debt collection agency receives the letter, they should not contact you again except to tell you if they are going to take specific action concerning the debt.  If they contact you other than to tell you they are going to take specific action, it is recommended that you contact an attorney immediately.

Debt Collector Contacts With Other People

The debt collector may contact other people such as friends, relatives, or neighbors only to find out information about where you live and work. Normally they can only contact these people once. In most cases, they are not allowed to tell these people about your debt, but only obtain information about your address and work.

If an attorney represents you on this debt, notify the debt collector of your attorney’s name, address and phone number. The debt collector should then contact only the attorney. 

What must the debt collector tell you?

A debt collector may contact you initially by telephone. If they do, they are required to send you a written notice within five days telling you the amount of the debt you owe, the name of the creditor that you owe the money to, and what action you should take if you do not owe the money.

Prohibited Harassment

Debt collectors can call you and request that you pay the debt. However, they cannot harass you or abuse you. Here are some examples of what debt collectors cannot do:

• Use obscene or profane language.
• Make repeated frequent calls to annoy you.
• Telephone you without identifying themselves.
• Use threats of violence or harm against you.
• Threaten to arrest you if you do not pay the debt.
• Threaten to take action such as lawsuits, garnishments, or taking your property unless the collector intends to do so and it is legal.
•  Debt collectors cannot make false statements about themselves or the debts.

 What should I do if I believe that I am a victim of Debt Collection Harassment?

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act gives you a right to sue in state or federal court within one year from the violation. If you win, you can recover damages for your loss, court costs, and attorney’s fees. Remember that the one-year period runs from the date the debt collector violated the law. You should act promptly to contact an attorney if you believe a debt collector has violated the law. If you fail to file your suit within one year of the violation, you lose your right to do so.  You can also notify the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) of violations. They cannot file lawsuits on your behalf, but they can investigate your complaints. Their address is: Consumer Response Center, Federal Trade Commission, Washington, D.C. 20580. You can also file a complaint through the Internet.

Proving Your Claim:

Make sure to keep any and all copies of everything that the debt collection agency sends you.  It is recommended to use a file folder and keep all of your letters together. Additionally, make sure to keep copies of everything that you send to them as well.

When, and if, they call you, be sure to write down notes of the exact words they used while talking to you on the telephone. Right after you hang up, write a summary of everything they told you, and what you told them. Note the date and time they called you. Be sure to write down the persons name, telephone numbers used and the exact name of the company that they are with.

Remember, YOU HAVE RIGHTS!!!!If you believe you have been harassed by any debt collector, you should contact an attorney for specific legal advice on your problem.

According to the complaint, thousands of consumer complaints have been filed against West Asset Management Inc., which employs 1,500 debt collectors in 13 states and one offshore location. The complaint alleged that West Asset Management debt collectors violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by calling consumers multiple times each day, often regarding accounts that did not belong to them, and sometimes using rude and abusive language. The FTC further charged that West Asset Management also illegally disclosed the existence of consumers’ debts to third parties and ignored consumers’ written demands that West Asset Management stop calling them.

The company also allegedly withdrew funds from consumers’ bank accounts or charged their credit cards without consent and falsely claimed that consumers would be sued, arrested, or have their property seized for nonpayment of their debt. In addition, the FTC alleged that West Asset Management falsely claimed that partial payments would be accepted as full settlement on accounts and that negative information would stay on consumers’ credit reports until debts were paid. According to the complaint, West Asset Management has collected on more than 24 million accounts on behalf of clients in the healthcare, telecommunications, consumer credit, and government service industries.

The settlement imposes a $2.8 million civil penalty, which is the largest civil penalty obtained by the FTC in a debt collection case. The settlement order permanently prohibits West Asset from using false, deceptive or unfair debt collection tactics, including:

• Misrepresenting itself as a law firm or that its collectors are attorneys;
• Misrepresenting that debtors will be arrested or have their property seized if they don’t pay;
• Threatening actions that would be illegal, or actions that the company has no intention of taking;
• Making false statements to collect a debt or obtain information about a consumer;
• Withdrawing funds from consumers’ bank accounts or charging their credit cards without their consent;
• Depositing postdated checks before the date on the check, or threatening to do so;
• Revealing to third parties that a consumer owes a debt;
• Asking a third party for a consumer’s location information more than once without the third party’s consent or a reasonable belief that the person’s earlier response was wrong or incomplete and that the person now has correct location information;
• Calling consumers before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., or at their workplace;
• Communicating with a consumer after receiving written notice that the consumer refuses to pay or wants the collector to stop calling; and
• Using obscene or profane language, or harassing consumers with repeated phone

To read more go to:  http://ftc.gov/opa/2011/03/wam.shtm.

This is one of the many reasons Congress enacted the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act (FDCPA), to prevent abusive collection agency practices such as this.  Florida expanded the FDCPA by introducing the Florida Consumer Collections Practices Act (FCCPA) that requires all debt collectors to register with the State of Florida.  Given the state of our economy more people are likely to fall victim to predators such as these.  It is important to know your rights when contacted by a debt collector.  These scammers got away with over $50,000 paid by people who did not owe these debts.  If you have questions about the debt collection practices of someone contacting you, you should contact a local attorney to find out your rights. 

Information taken from:  http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/west-volusia/2011/07/23/3-from-orange-city-firm-charged-in-illegal-debt-collections.html

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) regulates how debt collector collectors act when attempting to recover a debt. The federal government enacted the FDCPA in response many complaints of debt collector abuses.
The FDCPA prevents a debt collector from sharing your information with third parties, with few exceptions. It forbids telephone calls at times known to be inconvenient, or calls before 8:00 am or after 9:00 pm without permission. During these telephone calls, the debt collector is in violation of the FDCPA if they use or threaten the use of violence, use obscene or abusive language and/or call you continuously. Additionally, the debt collector cannot pretend to be an attorney and may not falsely represent or imply that documents are legal documents.
There are also certain things a debt collect must do under the FDCPA. A debt collector must disclose the name of the original creditor of the debt in addition to including the amount of the original debt when the consumer requests it. Any payment received by the debt collector must be applied as the consumer requests, and not applied to any amount that may be in dispute.
Debt Collectors are also prohibited from most contacts with the consumer after they become aware that the consumer is represented by an attorney. The FDCPA protects consumers from the abusive tactics listed above in addition to many other things. If you feel that you have been the victim of an FDCPAviolation, you should contact an attorney in your area today to see if you have any recourse against these collection companies.

Information gathered from: Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692-1692p; http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf