Do You Know Your Debt Collection Rights? Part 1
written by Credit-HQ ExpertIf you have ever dealt with owing money to a bank or telemarketer the chances are it wasn’t all plain sailing. But if you were behind with payments it would’ve been trying to say the least. You may even have been pestered with phone calls from a credit card company, bank or collection agent. This is probably one of the worst experiences.
Don’t despair because there are actions you can take to control debt collectors. There is a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to uphold the rights of consumers. Unfair debt collection methods are prohibited by law. If you want to protect yourself you have to know how.
The information of 15 U.S.C. 1692 – 1692o was last revised on 2 June 2005. We are under no obligation to update the information given.
This page has the following definitions:
A consumer is an individual who makes use of a credit card or owes money. A consumer can also be your spouse, parent, if you are underage, guardian, executor or administrator (15 U.S.C. 1692c(d).
You owe debt (money) to a creditor this is for anything you owe for personal purposes. This does NOT include business or commercial purposes (15 U.S.C. 1692a(5); 1692c(d)).
A collector is the person who makes contact with you if you are behind with your payments to your creditor. The collector can be an attorney, individual or a company. This company is paid by your creditor to collect overdue payments. Debts owed to someone else are collected by a third party collector (on behalf of the creditor). (15 U.S.C. 1692a(6)).
Do collectors have the right to contact you and when can collectors contact you?
The answer is yes. Collectors can make contact with you in person, phone, fax, mail or telegram. They are banned from contacting you prior to 8 am or later than 9 pm. Times and places considered as out of the ordinary are unlawful. Collectors may contact you at any time if you give them permission to do so.
A collector would usually not contact you if you inform him you have an attorney handling your debt(s).
It is sensible to keep a record the interaction between you and the collector. Make sure you have the collector’s name, date of contact and details of discussion.
Can family, friends or a place of work be contacted by collectors?
It is unlawful for a collector to contact or talk about your debt with anyone other than you. A collector has the right to get in touch with other people to ask where you live, work and your phone number. But this may only happen one time. (15 U.S.C. 1692c(b)).
It is unlawful for a collector to:
Get in touch with a person more than one time (a collector must have your permission to make contact more than one time). A collector may not inform the person contacted it is debt collection. A collector may not provide any document or postcard that gives information or symbols on the envelope indicating the purpose of the mail is for the purpose of collecting a debt.
Your employer may be contacted by a collector one time. A collector may send a letter to your employer requesting confirmation of employment. A collector may not request personal information about you from your colleagues or employer. Should a collector contact your place of employment more than one time for the same reason you can tell him your boss is not in favor of you getting this kind of call at work. (15 U.S.C. 1692b-c)
A collector can be told by your family and friends not to call again if he has already phoned one time. The collector may not make more than call without the permission of your family and friends. (15 U.S.C. 1692b-c)
Click here to see Part 2: Do You Know Your Debt Collection Rights? Part 2
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