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The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, What Are My Rights If I Owe Money?
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If you have borrowed money on credit cards, owe some money on a personal loan, borrowed money from a bank or are paying a mortgage, by definition you are a “debtor”. If you get behind on paying your creditors or go into collections, you can be contacted by a debt collector. Yes, you did borrow the money and yes the creditor wants it back but they do not have free reign to harass you.
The last I checked in this country there is no debtors’ prison. There are consequences for not paying your bills but you do have rights as a debtor. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act offers you many protections as a debtor. A creditor must treat you fairly and strictly prohibits certain tactics in the collection of a debt. Keep in mind however that this consumer protection does not erase any legitimate debt that you have.
The types of debt covered are family, personal and household debts. This would include money borrowed to purchase a car, credit card, charge accounts and medical bills. A debt collector is defined as any person who regularly collects debts that are owed to others. A third party debt collector, collection agency, and attorneys also fall into this category.
A debt collector has many options when it comes to contacting you about the repayment of a debt. They may contact you by mail, telephone, fax and telegram. A debt collector is not given free reign to contact you whenever they feel like it. They are allowed to contact you from 8 am to 9 pm unless you agree to be contacted outside of this time period. A debt collector is not allowed to contact you at work if they know that your employer does not allow such communication to take place during work hours. All you have to do is tell them to not call you at work the first time they call you and they must stop calling you there.
There are ways to have a bill collector stop contacting you. You must handle this in writing, alerting them that it is no longer permitted that they call you. Once they receive your letter they are not allowed to contact you again. This does not mean that you are off the hook. You can still be taken to court and sued on the matter. If you get taken to court, you could end up with a judgment against you for what you owe. This will then go on your credit report. Why it is a problem once the debt hits your credit report as a judgment is that most mortgage lenders will require this bill to be satisfied as it can impact a lender’s ability to give you a mortgage. The only way to get it off your credit report at this point is to pay it in full or settle it for something less than the full amount due. While it is on your credit report, you credit will most likely suffer.
If you have an attorney, the creditor must contact your attorney not you. If you do not have an attorney, a creditor may contact other people, but only to find out where you are living. In most cases the debt collector cannot tell anyone besides you and your attorney that you owe money.
If you do not believe that you owe a debt, and you file a dispute, the collection agency has 30 days to provide proof that a debt does exist and that you owe it. If they can provide proof then they can continue to try to collect on it. At no time during the collection process can a collector use threats of violence, publish you in a list of other debtors, use profanity or obscene language.
In addition, they cannot give false credit information to anyone, this includes the credit bureaus. They cannot send you anything that tries to look like an official document for a government agency or court. The collectors are not allowed to use false names. A collector may not engage in deception, threaten to take your property, deposit a post dated check early, collect more that you owe or contact you with a postcard.
If you feel that your rights have been violated you can take a collector to court within 1 year of the date that you feel that the law was violated. If you think that you have been treated unfairly you can contact the attorney general in your state to help you determine your rights.
Article by GetPreQualified.com's editorial staff.
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