It wasn't all that long ago that
American's faced great financial crisis. As a nation, we struggle
with debt, and it keeps us from achieving a better life. Debt
Education is here to help you change all that ... just ask!
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ISSUES
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act protects consumers from
abusive practices by third party collectors. Third party
collectors are those who are collecting debts for others, like
collection agencies or attorneys who specialize in collections.
Collections agencies and your creditors must play by
the rules.
Creditors
must not:
- Call before
8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. local time.
- Communicate
with a consumer by postcard or fax, where the likelihood
of someone else seeing the personal information is heightened.
- Make third-party
disclosures to non-consumers.
- Use any
language or symbol on any envelope or in the contents of any
communication effected by the mails that indicate the recipient
of the letter is a debtor.
- Keep communicating
with a debtor after the debt collector knows the consumer
is represented by an attorney, unless the attorney fails
to respond within a reasonable amount of time to communication
from the debt collector.
- Leave
a message for the debtor on his answering machine or voice
mail at work or home that in any way refers to the debt.
- Ask a
consumer to waive his legal protection under the law
by signing a contract in advance that includes such a waiver.
- Use oppressive,
abusive, belittling or insulting behavior. They cannot use
repeated telephone calls to harass a debtor, or use repeated
garnishments of exempt funds in a bank account.
- Misrepresent
his identity.
- Misrepresent
the legal status of your debt, falsely accuse you
of criminal activity, or indicate that any document is legal
process if it is not.
- Threaten
to take action that is illegal or that the collector
does not actually intend to take. Within 30 days of being
contacted by a debt collector, you may send a written dispute
of the debt or any part of it. The collector must then obtain
proof of the debt and stop all collection efforts until
he sends this proof to you.
A
debt collector may:
- Call between
8 a.m. and 9 p.m. local time, unless a consumer gives
permission to call at other times.
- Call
you at work, unless you inform the collector that your employer
prohibits it.
- Contact
you by mail, as long as there is no reference to the debt
on the envelope.
- Contact
people who aren't directly involved in your debt to get information
on where you live and work, so long as it is not a communication
about the debt. The collector must state his name, but only
give the name of his employer if the person specifically asks
him to do so. He may only contact each person once, unless he
believes the person gave incorrect or incomplete information
at the time, but now has the right information.
- Contact
consumers directly, unless you have informed the agency
that you are represented by an attorney regarding this debt.
(You should tell the agency how to reach your attorney.)
- Only
use business-like language. This prohibits threats of violence
or profane, obscene or abusive language.
- Only report
the status of your account to a qualified credit-reporting
agency.
- Deposit
a check on or after the date on the check. If the check
is post-dated by more than five days, the collector must notify
you three to 10 days before depositing it.
- Add
charges that are provided for by law or by your original
agreement with the creditor.
- Request
the debt be paid in full. Most collectors will, however,
accept reasonable plans for payment.
A debtor may
send a written request that the collector stop all contact. The
collector then may contact you only once more, to advise you as
to what legal or other action the collector or creditor intends
to take. They also may inform you that you will no longer be contacted.
A consumer
should be aware, however, of the possible consequences of invoking
this provision. Once you have stopped communication with a
collection agency, it may initiate legal action, or return your
account to the original creditor for legal action. This would
depend on the type, circumstances and amount of the debt, as well
as the policies of the creditor and the laws in your state.
If a court
enters a judgment against you, the creditor may pursue such remedies
as repossession, liens or wage garnishment.
There's a lot of information to read through on the Debt Education
website, but we feel this is extremely important material. We
strongly recommend that you bookmark
this page right now. This will allow you to read
at your leisure, and should you need to attend to other matters,
easily return back here at your convenience.
The Debt Education website was built for you. Please explore
our website. You'll find resources and information on virtually
every aspect of financial planning and money management. These
debt delp resources are designed to help you get out of debt
and stay out of debt. You can achieve financial independence.
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Debt Education PO Box 5156, Santa Cruz, CA 95063
