Consumers can default in their debt payments. Sometimes apart from daily expenditures, consumers may not be able to pay toward their debt payments and then the collection agencies keep calling day and night to harass for debt payments. To make payments toward your debt, you must calculate your debt-to-income ratio to check how much should be your debt payments as compared to your income. The debt laws prohibit unlawful activities by the creditors and collection agencies. Take a look at how they do it.
What are the debt laws?
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has enforced the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) under which the creditors are prohibited from using unfair, deceptive and abusive practices to collect debt from the consumers. But the laws cannot stop them from suing you for not paying them their money. This is for the debt collectors who regularly collect debt from the debtors. The debt collectors can be lawyers, collection agencies and companies that buy delinquent debt and then try to collect them. Check out which practices under the FDCPA are off limits.
Which practices are prohibited under the law?
As mentioned above, there are certain practices that are not allowed by the law and hence if the debt collectors don’t abide by them, they can be sued for their illegal activities. The practices prohibited by the FDCPA are given below:
- Time and place
As per the FDCPA, the debt collectors are not supposed to contact the debtors before 8 am and after 8 pm. If any debt collector is seen not abiding by this rule can be sued in a court of law. The debt collector should also abide by the restrictions regarding the place of contact. If the debtor is in the office and is not allowed by his employer to discuss all these things in his employment region, then the debt collector cannot talk to the debtor regarding debt collection. The debt collector is also not supposed to call in the office time if not allowed.
- Contact the debtor only
According to the debt laws, the debt collectors are not supposed to contact any other person apart from the debtor himself. The debtor has to be contacted for the debt collection and no relatives or neighbors should be harassed. If the debtor is represented by any lawyer, then only the debt collector can talk to the attorney or else contact the debtor first. If the court allows the debt collector to talk with the third party, then he can communicate with his credit reporting agency, attorney or any other person connected to the debtor.
- Harassment or abusive language
This is completely prohibited by the law. The debt collector is not supposed to use any abusive language to threaten the debtor or his relatives. The debt collector is also not supposed to threaten to put the debtor in jail for not paying off the debt. The collector also cannot advertise any sale of debt to coerce the debtor to pay off the debt. The debt collector has to reveal his identity and cannot pose as someone else to collect debt. Traumatizing a debtor for debt is not allowed as per FDCPA.
If you have debt, check your debt-to-income ratio and try to pay off your debt fast. If you’re continuously harassed by your debt collectors, complain about them to your state Attorney General or the FTC offices.
Legal Aid: As a Florida Debt Collection Attorney, Taras Rudnitsky would be honored to help you determine whether you have a Counterclaim against the debt collector or its lawyers. For a free consultation, please feel free to call toll-free at 1-888-834-5297.