| Five Little Known Facts About Debt Collectors' Rights |
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| Written by Sean Payne |
| Saturday, 26 September 2009 14:07 |
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If you owe money to creditors, you may already be aware of your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, also known as the FDCPA, you have the right to demand certain ethical debt collection practices from debt collectors.
If you owe money to creditors, you may already be aware of your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, also known as the FDCPA, you have the right to demand certain ethical debt collection practices from debt collectors. The FDCPA tells debt collectors how and when they can contact you, and what they're allowed to say to you to collect on a debt. An example of this is that bill collectors can't lie to you in order to collect on a debt, nor can they misrepresent the facts about your debt to collect on it. The FDCPA was created in order to combat the many abuses by bill collectors who did all of these things in order to get money from debtors. What you probably don't know about the FDCPA, however, is that even bill collectors have rights. First, they have the right to initiate communications with you in order to inform you about your debt. These communications may be in the form of a telephone call or a letter. In this communication, they can spell out exactly what you owe, including fees and penalties. Next, they have the right to keep contacting you unless you tell them in writing that you don't owe the money that they claim you do, that you don't owe them as much as they say you do, or that you're demanding that they give you proof that you owe the debt. They are, however, limited by the FDCPA in how and when they can communicate with you, but as long as they stay with the rules under the FDCPA, they're allowed to continue to contact you unless you tell them to stop. Third, the debt collector can continue to contact you even if you request that they stop contacting you, as long as the debt collector is actually the original creditor, or an in-house agency owned by the creditor. This is because the FDCPA recognizes creditors as being different than debt collectors, so they don't have to follow the same guidelines that debt collectors do. They do, however, still have to follow the same rules of decent behavior that debt collectors do. This includes not harassing people you know, or calling you at all hours during the night. Fourth, a debt collector has the right to contact others about your debt. They can only do this once, though, and they can only do it to find out your address, your telephone number, or the place where you work. They are, however, prohibited from contacting any third party multiple times, because that would be harassment. Lastly, debt collectors have the right to sue you in court to collect a debt from you. Of course, you can defend yourself in court, but if the judge decides against you, you may have your wages garnished to repay the debt. When dealing with debt collectors, make sure that you know your rights under the law. But also make sure that you know the rights that the law gives to debt collectors. This knowledge can help you to better deal with them when and if they become a problem. DISCLAIMER: This article is provided as information only and is not to be taken as financial advice. Sean Payne is loves to talk about getting out of debt. After paying off his own debt, he devoted years to discovering the easiest way to pay off debt, and maintaining your sanity while dealing with debt collectors. For more information about debt collectors' rights, and what you can do to preserve your peace and quiet, check out his excellent debt reduction course. |