Unfortunately, not being able to keep up with one's bills is becoming vastly common with the downturn in the economy. So if you have suffered financial setbacks and find yourself unable to pay credit card bills or other bills, you're in with increasing company. In step with falling behind with your bills often come the debt collection companies... They start calling and they keep calling, and then they call some more.
What you may not know is that when you are being contacted by a debt collector, you have powerful protections under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or FDCPA which is a set of federal statutes that regulates what a debt collection company can and cannot do to collect a debt. If a debt collector violates any provision of the FDCPA, they may wind up owing you more money than they were originally trying to collect from you! For example, if you owed $348 in a past due phone bill that went to collections, and the debt collector violated the FDCPA, they could owe you up to $1,000 in statutory damages! You collect the $1,000, pay the $348 you owned and the remainder is yours to keep!
How does this work? FDCPA provides for up to $1,000 in statutory damages if the debt collectors violates any of many rules regulating how they collect on debts. Some of the more common violations are as follows:
-Excessive telephone calls. It is a violation to engage your phone line in such a manner or with such frequency that any ordinary person would find it to be harassing.
-The debt collection company fails to send you written confirmation of the debt within five days of first contacting you.
- The debt collection company makes certain threats against you, such as garnishing wages, etc. for which they are not in the position to do.
- The debt collector contacs and speak to others regarding your debt without your permission.
- The debt collection company calls your place of employment after they have been informed either by you or your employer that such is not acceptable.
There are many more seemingly simple actions that will put the debt collection company in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and owing you up to $1,000.00! Even if you owe thousands of dollars on a credit card balance gone to collection, the amount you own can be offset by the $1,000 in statutory damages. Further, if the debt the collection company is trying to collect is past the statute of limitations or the debt collection company can not otherwise legally enforce the collection of the debt themselves, you can wind up collecting $1,000 without even paying the debt the collection company was after in the first place.
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