Debt Collector Harassment
Federal
and State Fair Debt Laws provide consumers with strong protections
from debt collection harassment. Debt collectors often break
these rules because they know that in most cases they can
get away with it because most consumers either do not know
about their rights or lack the resources to fight back.
The
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)
(15 U.S.C. §1692 et seq.) prohibits debt collectors
from engaging in a wide range of abusive and harassing conduct.
There a many things that a debt collector often does or
fails to do that violate the FDCPA. Below
are just a few FDCPA violation examples:
- Contact
a debtor who is represented by an Attorney.
- Fail
to warn the debtor that the communication is from a
debt collector and that any information obtained will
be used to collect a debt.
- Fail
to warn on all subsequent communications that they are
from a debt collector.
- Call
the debtor an unreasonable number of times in a period
of time or after they have been instructed to stop calling.
- Use
profane, foul, or obscene language.
- Make
racial, religious, or sexual slurs.
- Yell
or scream at the debtor.
- Engage
in name calling.
- Falsely
threaten a lawsuit.
- Falsely
threaten to ruin a debtor’s credit.
- Threaten
criminal charges, prosecution, or jail.
- Pretend
he or she is calling from a government agency, police
department, or court.
- Pretend
he or she is an attorney or calling from a law firm.
- Falsely
threaten wage garnishment.
- Contact
the debtor’s employer and discuss the debt with
a supervisor or co-worker.
- Leave
any message with any employee of the debtor’s employer.
- Leave
artificial or pre-recorded messages on the cell phone
of the debtor or another person.
- Attempt
to collect a debt from a debtor’s spouse or relative.
- Contact
a debtor’s, spouse, relative, or neighbor to discuss
or disclose the debt.
- Threaten
violence.
- File
frivolous or improper lawsuits against the debtor.
- Misrepresent
the amount of debt owed.
- Attempt
to collect a debt that has been paid, settled, or discharged
in bankruptcy.
- Call
before 8:00 a.m. (local time) or after 9:00 p.m. (local
time).
- Make
false promises to the debtor in order to trick them
into paying money.
- Lie
about the identity of his or her company.
- Leave
telephone messages discussing the debt where somebody
other than the debtor may hear the message.
- Fail
to properly advise the debtor of their right to demand
validation and verification of the debt.
- Do
anything that is unfair or deceptive.
If
any of the above have happened to you or if you were in
any way harassed or treated unfairly by a debt
collector, and are able to prove in court that a debt
collector violated the FDCPA, you are entitled to up to
$1,000.00 in statutory damages, payment for any actual damages
including emotional distress, and payment of your attorney’s
fees and costs.
A
group of people also may sue a debt collector and recover
money for damages up to $500,000, or one percent of the
collector's net worth, whichever is less.
You
Have The Right To Sue
I
want to sue, you should gather and organize all the information
you can about the debt, as well as the collection efforts
of any past or current collectors who contacted you. The
past correspondence provides important information about
the kinds of charges and interest that have been added to
the debt.
If you have copies of your credit reports, you will need
those also. The credit reports also contain historic information
about the debt, including the time it was incurred, when
it was defaulted, and who may have collected it previously.
If
you have any notes about the debt or any taped conversations,
threatening letters, or any communication whatsoever with
the collector, these can be extremely valuable in reconstructing
the collection efforts and any abuse.
Whenever
you're contacted by a debt collector, you should log
the call and note the date, time, person who called
and content of the call including any abusive language or
threats. You should keep these notes together.
If
you have any witnesses who can corroborate that you were
abused, you should get a brief statement from that witness
in their own words. These statements will help to refresh
the witnesses' memories when you get to trial and provide
information to your attorney.
Debt
Collectors Settle FTC Charges:
We
encourage you to document all debt collection activity and
especially activity you feel is in violation of the Fair
Debt Collection Practices Act.
Call
Log Sheet 
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