Debt collectors do not have the right to harass you. If they threaten, use obscene language, broadcast your debt to a third party or call outside the times from 8am until 9pm then they are breaking the law and you have rights. Contact our consumer fraud lawyers for a free legal consultation.
Potts Sadaka LLC
Guide to Consumer Debt Collectors
Responding to Debt Collection Agency
It is important that you respond as soon as possible, if you don’t, the agency may keep trying to reach you to collect what they believe is a valid debt.
Harassment
Federal and State law prohibits debt collectors collecting or attempting to collect a consumer debt by using obscene or profane language. Federal law states that a “debt collector may not engage in any conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse any person…” and also prohibits the use of obscene or profane language to the hearer or reader. (15 USC Section 1692d(2)).
A collection agency or its employees must not threaten to do anything that it cannot legally do. It cannot damage your property or physically injure you or others.
Contact Restrictions
Call restrictions
An agency may only call between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. If these hours are inconvenient for you, you may ask the agency to contact you at other times. There is no law that specifically limits the number of calls an agency may make to you, but repeated calls over a short period, which may be annoying or harassing, are prohibited. If you prefer that the agency contact you only by mail, you may ask them to do that. We suggest that you make that request by certified mail and keep a copy for your records (15 USC Sections 1692c & 1692d).
Mail restrictions
To further protect your privacy, collectors cannot use postcards when contacting others, and envelopes must not contain information showing that they have been sent by a collection agency (15 USC Sections 1692(b), 1692c(b) and 1692e).
No broadcasting your debt to a third party
When contacting some one other than the person who owes the debt, the collector must give his or her name but not the name of the collection agency (unless specifically asked to give that). When contacting the person who owes the debt, the collector must give either his or her name, or the name of the collection agency.
A Debt Collector cannot misrepresent who they are
A collector cannot pretend to be anyone except a collector and must tell the person who owes the debt that he or she is trying to collect the debt. Likewise, a collection agency cannot use any words or symbols in its notices to make the person who owes the debt think the notices are legal documents when they are not, or that they come from anyone other than a collection agency (15 USC Sections 1692b(1) and 1692(e)).
Creditors (the person who believes they are owed money) do not have to give you notice
The creditor is not required to let you know it is referring your account to a collection agency.
Duties of the Collection Agency
Either in its first contact with you regarding an unpaid bill or in writing within five days after that contact, the collection agency must provide the following information to you:
Amount you owe;
Name of the creditor; and
Process to follow if you dispute the bill.
The five-day notification period applies whether the collection agency’s first contact with you is by telephone or in writing, but many agencies include that information on their initial written notice, whether or not they have telephoned first.
Each notice demanding payment for a bill must contain the following information:
Creditor’s name (on the first notice);
Name, address and telephone number of the collection agency;
Date the notice was mailed;
Amount due.
Employer Contact.
An agency may contact an employer, but only for the following reasons:
To verify your employment.
To verify your business location.
To garnish your wages once you have been taken to court and a judgment was entered against you.
To find out whether you have medical insurance to cover a medical bill.
In a situation where an agency is legally contacting your employer to verify your employment or business location or to garnish your wages, the agency must make its inquiry in writing. If the agency receives no response to its written communication within 15 days, the agency may contact your employer by other means.
A collection agency can contact you at work unless the debt collector knows or has reason to know that your employer prohibits you from receiving such communication. However, if you don’t want to be contacted at work, you can request that they not telephone or send you notices at work. Be sure to make your request in writing to protect yourself. If the agency does send you a notice at work, it must be marked PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL. If you request no further contact at work and the agency is unable to contact you at home, the agency may have not another option but to decide to sue you for the amount of the bill it is collecting (15 USC Sections 1692c(a)(3)).
If you want to stop all contact from the agency you may request that they not contact you again. This request MUST be in writing. We suggest that you mail it certified, “return receipt requested” so you have proof of its delivery. Once the agency receives your letter, its employees can only contact you one final time to explain what action they plan to take. After that, contact must stop. Remember, though, that if you request no further contact in any way, you may leave the agency with no choice but to take you to court (15 USC Section 1692c(C)).
Credit Reporting
Some agencies do supply information on bills they are collecting to credit reporting agencies such as Experian, Equifax, or Trans Union. However, a collection agency cannot threaten to do this unless it is a customer of the reporting agency and actually intends to report your debt (15 USC Section 1692e(8)). Also, the collection agency must tell the reporting agency whether any dispute has been filed at the time it reports your debt, and it must update your record to show when the debt is paid. It does not have to remove the report at that time.
Interest Charges
A collection agency can add interest to your bill, however, the terms and rates depend on the circumstances of your particular account. The collection of any amount (including any interest, fee, charge, or expense incidental to the principal obligation) must be expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or as permitted by law. An attorney should be able to tell you how much the agency can legally charge you. You are also entitled to an explanation from the collection agency as to how much they are charging you and why. You should ask them by letter to explain to you in writing.
You Can File A Complaint
If you feel, after reading this information that your rights have been violated by a collection agency, you can file a complaint with your state’s Attorney General’s office. If the information you provide indicates that the collection agency has violated the law, we may contact the collection agency and try to find a solution to your problem. However, some types of complaints (such as telephone threats or the use of abusive language by collectors) are very difficult to prove.
