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14. What Types Of Creditor Harassment Might Violate the FDCPA?
Are you dealing with harassing creditors trying to collect a debt? Wondering what they can
and cannot do when collecting a debt? What activities might violate the law? Today I’d
like to examine these illegal debt collection activities with you and talk about what your
options are.
Hi, I’m David Candler Hicks of Alliance Legal Group. We’re a Florida law firm that
focuses on helping clients deal with debt collectors. Would you like to learn more?
Join me.
Many people don’t realize that debt collection is actually a heavily regulated industry.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, enforces the Fair
Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which prohibits debt collectors from using abusive,
unfair, or deceptive practices to collect from you.
Under the FDCPA, a debt collector is someone who regularly collects debts owed to others.
This includes collection agencies, lawyers who collect debts on a regular basis, and
companies that buy delinquent debts and then try to collect them. The Act covers personal,
family, and household debts, but doesn’t cover debts you incurred to run a business.
The FDCPA applies only to 3rd party debt collectors, not to the original creditor. Florida has
its own version of the FDCPA, called FCCPA or the Florida Consumer Collection Practices
Act. There are many similarities, but one of the biggest distinctions is that the collection
entity does NOT have to be a third party.
The FDCPA prohibits debt collector from engaging in certain misleading or harassing conduct.
For example, they may not contact you at inconvenient times or places, such as before 8 in the morning
or after 9 at night, unless you agree to it. And collectors may not contact you at work
if they’re told (orally or in writing) that you’re not allowed to get calls there.
If an attorney is representing you about the debt, the debt collector must contact the
attorney, rather than you. If you don’t have an attorney, a collector may contact
other people – but only to find out your address, your home phone number, and where
you work. Collectors usually are prohibited from contacting third parties more than once.
Other than to obtain this location information about you, a debt collector generally is not
permitted to discuss your debt with anyone other than you, your spouse, or your attorney.
Every collector must send you a written “validation notice” telling you how much money you owe
within five days after they first contact you. This notice also must include the name
of the creditor to whom you owe the money, and how to proceed if you don’t think you
owe the money. If you send the debt collector a letter stating that you don’t owe any
or all of the money, or asking for verification of the debt, that collector must stop contacting
you until it can verify the debt. You have to send that letter within 30 days after you
receive the validation notice, and the debt collector can resume collection efforts after
providing it to you, but if they fail to provide verification of the debt they are barred from
collecting it.
One of the most important aspects of the FDCPA is the prohibition against harassment. Debt
collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse you or any third parties they contact. For
example, they may not use threats of violence or harm, publish a list of names of people
who refuse to pay their debts, use obscene or profane language; or repeatedly use the
phone to annoy someone.
Debt collectors are also barred from making false statements. For example, they cannot
falsely claim that they are attorneys or government representatives, falsely claim that you have
committed a crime, falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit reporting
company, misrepresent the amount you owe, indicate that papers they send you are legal
forms if they aren’t, or indicate that papers they send to you aren’t legal forms if they
are.
Debt collectors are also prohibited from saying that you will be arrested if you don’t pay
your debt; that they’ll seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages unless
they are permitted by law to take the action and intend to do so; or that legal action
will be taken against you, if doing so would be illegal or if they don’t intend to take
the action. They also cannot send false credit information about you to anyone, including
a credit reporting company; send you anything that looks like an official document from
a court or government agency if it isn’t; or use a false company name.
If a creditor or debt collector has violated the FDCPA you have the right to sue them in
a state or federal court. You may also have options under state laws for administrative
remedies. In addition to contacting your own attorney, you should report any problems you
have with a debt collector to your state Attorney General’s office, the Federal Trade Commission,
and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
At Alliance Legal Group, we help clients dealing with harassing debt collectors to find options
to get their financial lives back on track. We’d be happy to discuss the circumstances
of your situation with you, and help you find appropriate options. I’m David Candler Hicks
Alliance; have a wonderful day!