Why Are We Victims Of Debt Collection Harassment?
One of the biggest challenges we face today is debt
. Causes may be many, high rate of spending, unemployment, or credit cards, debts are eating into our day to day affairs with a unimaginable speed. Mounting debts have made debtors stoop due to their heavy burden.
Repaying an original credit agency may not be a Herculean task as paying or even facing debt collection agencies. Debt collection is a third party business, where the agency collects the debts regularly either for the original creditor or buys the debt from the original creditors. Such collection agencies employ all types of hardball tactics to gain money from you.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) has been established by the Federal Trade Commission to ensure a fair debt collection by the debt collectors. The Act has guidelines for debt collectors about the manner in which they can conduct business.
The Act is designed to protect the consumers from unethical methods employed by the collection agencies. Harassment in any form is considered a violation of the FDCPA. In 2009 the FTC received 88,190 FDCPA violation complaints about third party collection methods. This accounts for 16.8 percent of all consumer complaints in the country. No matter what you owe to a creditor you are protected by the FDCPA and you can complain of any unfair or unethical means employed by the debt collector to collect payment from you.
When a debt collector calls you, it may mean that you owe a debt. There may even be multiple debts. Sometimes there may be calls for an illusory debt. The first action you should take when a debt collector calls is to ascertain the debt is yours. You can ask the collector to validate the debt harassing behavior it is a violation of the FDCPA and you may opt for legal action.
Under the FDCPA you have a right to:
Refuse to take a call from a debt collector
Hang up on a debt collector
Inform a debt collector not to call
Write to a debt collector not to call
Inform him of a convenient time to call you
Not allow him to call you at odd hours
Ask him to validate the debt in writing
Inform him not to call at work place
Send a cease and desist letter to stop further communication
Engage an attorney for further communication and legal action
Record the calls from debt collectors if it is allowed in the state you reside in
The lack of knowledge of your rights under the FDCPA often leads to debtors succumbing to debt collections harassment.
by: victocs
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