The passage of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) has put regulations in place to govern the behavior of debt collectors. But harassment is still part of debt collection. Collectors assume that most people don't know their rights, and persist in harassing and making false threats.
One Pittsburgh woman reported that a collector called her 5-year-old daughter and told her that she'd better get her "deadbeat mommy to pay her credit card bills." Another woman's young daughter was tricked into giving the collector her mother's work number. One man's supervisor was constantly called out of important meetings to deal with collectors calling to let her know of his debt and demand payment.
You CAN stop the harassing calls. Under the FDCPA, you are allowed to tell the debt collector to stop calling you or contacting you. There is no law that says you must communicate with a debt collector on the phone. If you hang up on them, and they continue to call you, they are in violation of the FDCPA.
What to do:
1. In any phone conversation with a debt collector, ask for and write down the name of the agency, the caller and the phone number. Keep a log of contacts, recording the date and time of the call, the collector's name and agency, and a summary of the conversation.
2. Insist on specific information about the debt. Tell the collector you will not discuss the debt until you receive the documents and review them. That is the law -- within five days after you are first contacted, the collector must send you a written notice detailing the amount of money you owe, the name of the creditor and what action you should take if you believe you do not owe the money. If after a validation request under the FDCPA, the creditor refuses to cooperate, then the creditor may not legally collect the debt.
3. Do not give out any personal information, such as Social Security Number, the name of your employer, or banking information.
4. There is no reason you need to acknowledge that you owe the money! This is very important if the debt is old. By acknowledging the debt, you may actually extend the time the creditor can sue on it. All states have statutes of limitations on debt collecting. Few states are more than six years. Many are less. You can extend this limitation by acknowledge the debt or even by making a partial payment!
4. Tell the debt collector that you prefer to communicate with them in writing. Debt collectors would rather call because they are hoping that you are ignorant of the laws, and they can say whatever they want without any record of what was said. Do not put up with harassment or verbal abuse.
5. If they are calling you at work, advise the collector that your employer does not permit you to receive these calls.
6. Follow up with a cease-and-desist letter to the debt collector, stating that the debt collector is to cease further communication with you. Send it certified mail, return receipt requested.
7. The debt collector may contact you one more time, but only by mail, to tell you that further efforts to collect the debt are terminated, that certain actions may be taken by the debt collector, or that the debt collector is definitely going to take certain actions.
8. Debt collectors may NOT contact you at unreasonable times; harass, oppress or abuse you; threaten violence or harm; use obscene language; or repeatedly annoy you by phone. They cannot make false statements, such as implying they are attorneys or government representatives, or claim that you will be arrested if you don't pay your debt. They also cannot collect an amount greater than your debt, unless state law permits.
9. If you believe you don't owe the money - the collector is in error, the debt is so old that the statute of limitations has run out, or you have been a victim of identity theft - send the collection agency a letter stating that you do not owe the debt. You must do so within 30 days after receiving written notice. But if the collector sends you proof that you owe the money, he can resume contacting you.
10. If you believe a debt collector has violated the law, you have the right to sue him in state or federal court within one year of the date of the violation.
11. Report problems with debt collectors to your state attorney general's office and the Federal Trade Commission.
