Know Your Rights Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)

How to Keep a Debt Collector from Contacting You
Have you been receiving unwanted calls from a debt collection company? Has the contact risen to the level of harassment? Have the calls been coming at inconvenient times? Have the collection agencies been calling you at work, even after you requested that they stop? Are you receiving calls about a debt you do not owe, or calls about debts owed by a family member to whom you have no financial connection? According to a recent report from CNBC, about one third of all consumers have been contacted by a debt collector in the last year, and many of those consumers have raised complaints about the content of the phone call or the manner in which they were contacted.
What can you do to keep a debt collector “off your back,” as the report poses? The following are some tips.
The first step in keeping debt collectors “off your back,” so to speak, is by knowing your rights under the FDCPA. Who is protected by the FDCPA? It protects all consumers with debt, and with all different kinds of debt, including: medical debt, credit card debt, mortgage debt, student loan debt, automobile debt, and even personal loans. In other words, if you have consumer debt, no matter how far behind you are on payments, you have protections under the FDCPA.
What does the FDCPA prohibit? It provides many different protections to consumers, including but not limited to:
  • Threats of violence or threats of criminal arrest from debt collectors;
  • Profane language from debt collectors;
  • Lies from debt collectors about the debt you owe or the amount of money you owe;
  • Debt collectors calling at inconvenient times (such as after 9:00 p.m. and before 8:00 a.m.) once you have requested they stop; and
  • Debt collectors calling at work once you have requested they stop.
Knowing your rights is the first step to putting an end to harassing calls from debt collection companies.
Verify the Debt for Yourself
What is the next step you should take? You should verify that you owe the debt for which you are being contacted, as well as the specific amount that you have been told you owe. There are numerous debt collections scams out there. Moreover, debt collectors may be calling about a “zombie debt,” which is a debt that you owed once but the statute of limitations has passed.
Report the Contact to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
The CFPB has the ability to take action against harmful debt collection practices, but it cannot do so unless it knows about these practices. The CFPB has resources for contacting debt collection companies and requesting that they cease contact, as well as resources for submitting complaints about specific debt collectors.
Deal with the Debt You Owe (If You Owe it)
If the debt is legitimate, this does not mean that debt collectors can harass you. However, it is nonetheless a good idea to determine the best path forward for your situation. In some cases, you may be able to work out a payment plan. In others, filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy or Chapter 13 bankruptcy might be among the best options for moving forward and dealing with your debt.
Contact a Consumer Protection Lawyer in Oak Park
Do you have questions about handling debt collectors or filing for bankruptcy? A consumer protection attorney in Oak Park can help you. Contact the Emerson Law Firm for more information.
See Related Blog Posts:
Dealing with Medical Debt Collection Complaints

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