Handling Debt Collection Harassment
November 1st, 2007 | by rachel |
Have you ever been harassed by debt collection agencies? If you have, you know that being behind on debt payments adds stress and late charges to bills that, for whatever reason, are not current. No one WANTS to be in that situation. Debt collection agencies use a variety of methods and tactics to collect money owed to the creditors that hire them. If you are behind on payments, you are still obligated to pay the debt but you do NOT have to tolerate harassment. Here are some steps you can take to handle debt collection appropriately while working through a difficult situation.
1. Validate the Debt
If there is any reason to believe that a debt is being attributed to you that is NOT your debt, verify the debt before doing anything else. Contact the original creditor directly and request written documentation proving the debt. Within 30 days after the receipt of a debt notice, a consumer may dispute a debt or any portion of a debt. Once a dispute is registered, the collection agency must stop all collections efforts until the following things are obtained: verification of the debt, a copy of a judgment against the consumer, and/or the name and address of the original creditor. This is especially important if there is a question about the legitimacy of the debt. It also buys time to prevent more drastic action by the creditor and/or the collection agency.
2. Know what to expect and what not to tolerate
Consumers do have options when dealing with collection agencies. Collectors, however, are banking on the fact that most consumers will not know their legal rights in this area AND that consumers will get caught up in the emotion of the situation. In many cases, collectors are trained to bully consumers into doing things that make their overall finances worse, not better. Certainly, consumers can be proactive by learning their rights and making a plan for talking with collectors. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal law intended to protect the rights of debtors.
According to this law, collectors may not:
- Disclose a consumer’s debt to anyone other than the consumer
- Communicate via post card
- Use language or symbols that might indicate that the debt collector is in the business of debt collection
- Communicate with anyone other than the consumer’s attorney regarding the debt (once it becomes known that the consumer has an attorney)
- Call the consumer directly before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. to discuss the collection of a debt
- Contact the consumer at their place of employment (if and when it is known that the employer prohibits such contact)
- Continue to contact the consumer regarding the debt once they are notified in writing that the consumer wished all communication to cease
- Harass or abuse the consumer in any way in an attempt to collect the debt
- Use any false or misleading means
- Use any unfair practices to obtain payment of the debt
On the other hand, collectors may:
- Communicate with the consumer, the consumer’s attorney, the creditor, the attorney of the creditor, the attorney of the debt collector and/or credit reporting agencies regarding the consumer’s debt
- Communicate 1 final time with the consumer, after receiving written cease and desist notice, to let them know 1) debt collection efforts are being terminated; 2) the debt collector or creditor MAY invole certain remedies or 3) the debt collector or creditor WILL invoke a specific remedy
One other area that may be of interest to a consumer is the statute of limitations. Each state has set time periods for particular types of debt. In some cases, debts cannot be legally collected if the statute of limitations has expired.
3. Take some action
It is important to deal with debt collectors in a proactive manner. In other words, DO SOMETHING! Both of these things can be done as soon as the first call is received from the collection agency.
First, request that all communication be conducted in writing. Debt collectors use phone calls because they work. Consumers get flustered when confronted on the phone and there is no record of exactly what was said. Using written communication will create a paper trail that may be helpful later in the process. By law, debt collectors do not have to honor this request but it doesn’t hurt to ask.
Second, write a “cease and desist” letter. When a consumer tells the collection agency that they no longer wish to be contacted regarding a debt, the collector must cease communications. This letter does not prevent the original creditor from contacting the consumer, nor does it end the debt obligation in any way, but it does slow down the number of phone calls that are received.
4. Report violations
If a debt collector breaks any provisions of the FDCPA, report those violations as quickly as possible. Before doing so, it is helpful to obtain evidence of the violations. All complaints should be made in writing and they can be sent to the Federal Trade Commission. Additionally, complaints should be made to the State Consumer Protection Agency where the consumer lives.
5. Pay the debt!
Ultimately, the way to deal with a debt is to pay it. Certainly, there are many ways to do this – negotiate a settlement, establish a payment plan, pay the debt in full, etc. No matter what solution is reached, be sure to get signed agreements before paying anything and never give up access to any personal bank accounts.