15 Things that Credit Collectors Cannot Do

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, FDCPA, dictates how debt collectors can act when collecting a debt from you. These are things a debt collector can't do. If you need to reference the law, citations have been provided. 1. Ask you to pay more than you owe The collector cannot misrepresent the amount you owe. [15 USC 1692e] § 807(2)(a) 2. Ask you to pay interest, fees, or expenses that are not allowed by law The collector can't add on any extra fees that your original credit or loan agreement doesn't allow. [15 USC 1692f] § 808(1) 3. Call repeatedly or continuously The FDCPA considers repeat calls as harassment. [15 USC 1692d] § 806(5) 4. Use obscene, profane, or abusive language Using this kind of language is considered harassment. [15 USC 1692d] § 806(2) 5. Call before 8:00 am or after 9:00 pm Calls during these times are considered harassment. [15 USC 1692c] § 805(a)(1) 6. Call at times the collector knew or should know are inconvenient Calls at these times are considered harassment. [15 USC 1692c] § 805(a)(1) 7. Use or threaten to use violence if you don't pay the debt Collectors can't threaten violence against you. [15 USC 1692d] § 806(1) 8. Threaten action they cannot or will not take Collectors can't threaten to sue or file charges against you, garnish wages, take property, cause job loss, or ruin your credit when the collector cannot or does not intend to take the action. [15 USC 1692e] § 807(5) 9. Illegally inform a third party about your alleged debt Unless ...

Illegal Debt Collection Tactics Part 7: Threatening Action They Cannot or Will Not Take

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, also called the FDCPA, protects consumers from unethical collections practices, including harassing collections calls, which are FDCPA violations. It was written into law by the United States Congress, under the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission, and was designed to protect consumers from unethical, and often illegal methods of collecting money from debtors. The law passed in 1978, works along with the Consumer Credit Protection Act, and state laws passed by some states, to work with the federal government to protect consumers from deceptive collections practices.

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, only third party collections companies may be cited when they use collections methods that are in direct violation of the FDCPA. It doesn't apply to agreements or any transactions between debtors and creditors, unless the creditor hires a third party agent to collect a debt, and that's where many problems arise. In 2009, over 60,000 complaints were lodged by consumers against collections companies, who believed their rights were violated due to unscrupulous collections methods. Harassing collections calls are just one of the common practices used by the more unethical collections agents to force consumers who aren't aware of their rights, to pay debts.

FDCPA violations result in thousands of complaints against third party companies, and hundreds of lawsuits brought by consumers every year. Under the law, there are certain things a third party collections company can do, but there are many that are violations, and in order to be certain that your rights aren't being violated by these people, you need to know what's covered under federal law. A fine line exists in many instances as to whether the law has been broken, and one of the violations every consumer must be aware of is a collections company who threatens to take action that they can't or won't actually take. Consumers have been coerced into paying debts when they're in a serious financial situation, out of fear of what will happen if they don't.

What every consumer should know about the FDCPA, is that anytime a violation of the law is documented, it can result in a fine of up to $1,000 paid back to the consumer. Collections agents aren't allowed to call you about a debt before 8 am or after 9 pm, or at times which are inconvenient. When a third party agent continuously calls several times a day, or uses abusive or obscene language, or harasses you, you have the right to take action against them because these are FDCPA violations. The key is to have everything documented in writing if you choose to lodge a complaint or bring a lawsuit against them.

One family who got behind in their bills because of company downsizing, continuously got calls from a collections company, threatening to take their home and all their possessions. It caused an enormous amount of stress to an already serious situation. The collector in question didn't have the authority to take action, but was using coercion to get the bills paid. In some cases under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a creditor may take action, however when a company uses harassing collections calls or threatens actions they won't take, this is an FDCPA violation, and the FDCPA expressly prohibits any deceptive method of collections.