Keeping Debt Collectors and Creditors off Your Back

Many people do not know what to do when they are faced with mounting debt and are being harassed by creditors. Harassment comes in many forms, but the debt collector's favorite method seems to be through the phone. Whether it is a robo-call or someone is actually on the other side, repetitive calls at all hours of the day can quickly bring someone to his/her breaking point.

It is surprising how little someone needs to know to help keep creditors at bay. A debtor can potentially reduce the volume of creditor calls and other forms of harassment simply by consulting the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (the "Act"). This federal set of laws is intended to lay out the ground rules for debt collection and can be a powerful tool to help even up the battlefield between debtor can creditor.

The Act prohibits creditors from contacting individuals at unusual times or places known to be inconvenient for the debtor. At a minimum, debt collectors (notwithstanding communication from the debtor to the contrary) shall not communicate with the consumer before 8 AM and after 9 PM. Further, except for a few circumstances, a debt collector cannot communicate with a third party in connection with a debt. Therefore, if a debt collector calls your neighbor or co-worker to discuss your debt, that is prohibited.

Speaking of prohibited conduct under the Act, a debt collector may not contact the debtor if he or she is represented by an attorney with respect to the debt. That is why consulting and retaining a bankruptcy attorney is so important in this process. The debt collector must also refrain from contacting the consumer at work if the debt collector knows that this type act is prohibited by the employer. In short, a debt collector may not communicate with anyone other than the consumer, his/her attorney or a consumer reporting agency concerning an alleged debt.

Most importantly, if a consumer notifies a debt collector in writing that he/she refuses to pay a debt or he/she wants the debt collector to cease contacting the consumer, the debt collector must comply with the request. After this written request, the debt collector can only contact a consumer to advise the consumer that the debt collector's further efforts to collect are being terminated, or to notify the consumer that the creditor or debt collector may invoke specific remedies ordinarily used in debt collection, such as a lawsuit.

It may be difficult to actually peruse a claim against a debt collector for violating the Act because of the cost to retain an attorney. However, knowledge is power and the important thing to realize here is that this harassment, by law, can stop. A debtor can easily learn how to harness the Act to his/her advantage by consulting the Act. Applying the info from the Act can save a debtor from unwanted stress and time wasted combatting these collection efforts.

To download a copy of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, please click here.

Jeffrey F. Levine, Esq.

Singer Pistiner, P.C.

(602) 264-0110

jl@singerpistiner.com

phoenix-bankruptcy-lawyers.com

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