| The Bill Collector Letter That Gets Them Off Your Back |
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| Written by Sean Payne |
| Saturday, 19 September 2009 19:18 |
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Remember that feeling you got when the letter from the bill collector came in the mail? Remember the cold feeling in your gut when you realized that you owed money that you couldn't repay? And after that, the phone calls and additional letters hounding you for the money that you knew you didn't have.
Remember that feeling you got when the letter from the bill collector came in the mail? Remember the cold feeling in your gut when you realized that you owed money that you couldn't repay? And after that, the phone calls and additional letters hounding you for the money that you knew you didn't have. It's time to turn the tables. It's time to learn your rights and to exercise them. There's a Federal law called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that outlines exactly what a collector can and cannot do to collect on a debt. The FDCPA, as it is called, sets limits on when and how a debt collector can contact you. For example, a debt collector cannot call you at work except to find out the telephone number to call you at home. They cannot inform other people, including your employer, about the debt you owe. Additionally, collection agents cannot call you or contact you in any other way if you inform them that they may no longer do so. That's all we're going to learn how to do. The magic debt collector letter consists of two parts: The first thing is your identifying information. This includes your name, address, account number of the debt that the bill collector is trying to collect on, and any other information that they need to identify you. The second thing is to state that you wish them to cease further communication with you. This is all that the FDCPA requires you to do to stop the bill collector from contacting or harassing you in the future. The only additional correspondence that the bill collector can send to you is a letter notifying you that they will stop contacting you, and whether or not they intend to pursue legal action in order to collect on the debt. When sending this letter, it's wise to send it via certified mail with delivery receipt requested. This means that when the letter is delivered to the debt collection agent, you'll receive notification that is now in their hands. Make sure to save this receipt to prove that the letter was actually delivered to the collection agent. According to the FDCPA, if the bill collector contacts you in the future in violation of the law, you have the right to report the bill collector to the FTC. The FTC is the Federal Agency that enforces the FDCPA. Once you have notified the FTC of the bill collector's violation of the law, they can pursue legal action against the bill collector. Keep in mind that even after you let the debt collector know about your desire not to be contacted, they still can pursue legal action against you to collect on the debt. This handy letter can only protect you from being harassed by debt collectors. It can't keep you from being sued by the debt collectors if they still want to collect on the debt. DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice. Sean Payne can teach you plenty about how to get out of debt. After more than a decade of learning about how to get out of debt, he has developed a powerful strategy to keep bill collectors from calling. You can discover his secrets for paying off debt at his debt payoff tips website. |