The following is a guest post by Paul Smith. He is an attorney with an interest in personal finance. He blogs at insideconsumerfinance.blogspot.com.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal statute that protects consumers from abusive debt collection practices. It was passed by Congress to “eliminate abusive debt collection practices by debt collectors, to insure that those debt collectors who refrain from using abusive debt collection practices are not competitively disadvantaged, and to promote consistent State action to protect consumers against debt collection abuses.”
What can debt collectors not do under the FDCPA?
The FDCPA sets forth strict guidelines concerning the methods that debt collectors can use against consumers in an effort to collect on debts.
For instance, the debt collectors cannot contact a consumer by telephone before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 local time. The debt collector also cannot contact the consumer at their place of employment if the debt collector knows that the employer knows (or has reason to know) the employer prohibits the consumer from receiving those communications. (In plain English this means that the debt collector cannot contact you at work if they know your employer says you can’t receive those types of communications at work).
Debt collectors also cannot harass or abuse consumers. Forms of harassment or abuse that are specifically prohibited under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act include threatening to arrest someone, beat them up, curse the consumer, or repeatedly calling someone without identifying that the person calling is a debt collector in an effort to get the person to pay the debt.
What can you do if a debt collector is violating these rules?
Let’s say you keep getting calls at 10:00 p.m., well after your children are asleep. Well, you have options.
One of the best and least known options a consumer has under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act permits a consumer to request that a debt collector cease ALL communication with the consumer, a request the debt collector MUST honor or else they are in violation of the law.
Under this provision, a debt collector cannot contact a consumer by any means: phone, letter, electronic communications, etc. once the consumer has given the debt collector written notice that either (i) the consumer refuses to pay the debt or (ii) the consumer wants the debt collector to cease all communication with him or her.
The key here MUST give written notice he or she wishes to receive no further communication from the debt collector. If you don’t then, the debt collector can keep calling you (between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.) or emailing you, sending you letters, etc.
Once the written notice has been given, the debt collector can only communicate with the consumer to confirm that the debt collector will stop communicating with him or her or to notify the consumer that the debt collector is going to sue for non-payment of the debt.
And, once a lawsuit is filed, the debt collector cannot contact a consumer directly except through his or her attorney once the lawsuit has been filed (by either side).
Does this actually work?
Unfortunately many times debt collectors simply ignore this provision of the law and will continue to harass people even if they receive these notices. However, they do so at their peril-any communications after the written notice has been sent are continuing violations of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, each of which would entitle the consumer to sue the debt collector for money damages and attorney’s fees.
Having seen these kinds of cases while working in the court system, many debt collectors act in really outrageous ways that violate just about every provision in the FDCPA. However, this is almost better for a consumer who decides to challenge the debt collector in court, because they debt collection will have a very hard time winning the case if they’re engaging in that type of behavior.
What’s the bottom line?
If you’re being harassed by a debt collector, and no matter whether they are doing so within the bounds of the FDCPA, you do have options. I recognize that filing a lawsuit is a big investment of time, energy and money, but sending written notice is easy, painless and will only cost you the price of a stamp.
If you decide to take that route, then the written notice doesn’t need to be lengthy or very formal; just say your name, your account number (if applicable) and that you no longer wish to receive any communications from the debt collector. (I personally don’t recommend sending a letter saying you refuse to pay the debt because that will just encourage to get really aggressive and file a lawsuit).
If you feel like it, you could also say that if they continue to communicate with you after having received the notice, then you will consider that a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and you will file a lawsuit against the debt collector if they continue to contact you in an attempt to collect the debt.
How about you all? Do you have any experience getting debt collectors to stop calling or know someone that has? Have you tried a strategy not discussed here that worked for you?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy https://www.flickr.com/photos/meddygarnet/3186273338
Getting Calls from Debt Collectors at Work or Home at All Hours of the Day or Night? You Do Have Options to Make Them Stop is a post from: My Personal Finance Journey
