Drowning in debt sucks. Being hounded by collection agencies sucks more.
You may have heard horror stories about collectors harassing borrowers who are struggling to pay off bills and was actually a technique that many collectors turned to before the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was put into place in 1977 to protect borrowers with outstanding debt from abusive, illegal, and unethical collection practices. Consumers (that’s YOU!) do have rights, and the Act defines these rights explicitly.
The Act outlines several rules that debt collectors must legally follow:
- Phone Calls: Collectors are allowed to contact borrowers via mail, fax, telegram, or phone, but calls must be made between the hours of 8AM and 9PM local time.
- Third Parties: If you have hired an attorney to help with your debt problems, a collector must contact the attorney with all communications. The collector is also not allowed to disclose the fact that the borrower is in debt to anyone outside of the situation.
- Written Notice: A collector must give written notice with all applicable details of the debt they are seeking to collect within 5 business days of contacting the borrower.
- Harassment: A collector is not allowed to abuse or harass borrowers, including posing as an attorney or credit bureau employee, share your debt problems with other people, threaten to have you arrested or your wages garnished, or sue you when they have no intention of taking such action.
If a collector violates the terms of the fair debt collection act, borrowers can sue collectors for damages on top of court costs and you now have the right to fight back. If they are following the rules and you aren’t in the position to work out an payment agreement and want the phone calls to stop, then grab a pen and listen up!
According to section 805 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act:
“(c) CEASING COMMUNICATION. If a consumer notifies a debt collector in writing that the consumer refuses to pay a debt or that the consumer wishes the debt collector to cease further communication with the consumer, the debt collector shall not communicate further with the consumer with respect to such debt, except –
(1) to advise the consumer that the debt collector’s further efforts are being terminated;
(2) to notify the consumer that the debt collector or creditor may invoke specified remedies which are ordinarily invoked by such debt collector or creditor; or
(3) where applicable, to notify the consumer that the debt collector or creditor intends to invoke a specified remedy.
If such notice from the consumer is made by mail, notification shall be complete upon receipt.”
So the consumer can just send a third-party collection agency a written notice (preferably citing the FDCPA), ordering them to stop the collection letters and calls, and the agency is legally obligated to comply. Ball is now in your court!
