The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and private attorneys governs fair debt collection methods. According to the FDCPA, a debt collector is someone who collects debts owed to others. Fair debt collection includes methods employed by collection agencies, lawyers who collect debts on a regular basis and companies that buy criminal debts and try to collect them
Debt is an unpaid amount that you owe on a personal loan or home mortgage or a credit card. Collecting such debt is legitimate for the creditors.
The FDCPA has laid down rules for fair debt collection by debt collectors. Original creditors are not
regulated by the FDCPA.
A debt collector can call you during day time (between 8 am and 9 pm) on a number agreed by you and request for payment. A debt collector cannot demand payment in any form and cannot harass you or torment you for the debt. He can only request you in cordial terms. The FDCPA protects you from debt collector harassment.
Fair debt collection requires debt collectors to follow the guidelines of the FDCPA. Fair debt collection ensures protection of the consumer. Under fair debt collection it is required that the collector does not call you repeatedly at inconvenient times, harass you by using abusive language, try to collect more money than the actual debt, call you at workplace or threaten to garnish your wages.
For the protection of consumers the FDCPA governs debt collection methods. Violating the FDCPA is punishable in a court of law. A debt collector cannot use abusive language or threaten you with use of violence if you don’t pay the debt. Unless he is permitted by you, the debt collector cannot inform a third party about your debt or call a third party to get information about you. If the debt collector fails to send written debt validation notice or does not stop calling after a written request from you, he has violated the FDCPA. He should not continue collecting debt before the debt is verified. All these are considered to be the FDCPA violations.
An FDCPA attorney is a person who has the right knowledge of the fair debt collection practices. If you are being harassed by a debt collector for a debt, whether you owe the debt or not you have rights as a consumer. You must make use of these rights by engaging an FDCPA attorney. An FDCPA attorney can evaluate your case, sue the debt collectors for you, and may also sue for damages. Once an FDCPA attorney has been engaged the debt collectors have to contact the attorney only.
You may engage an FDCPA attorney to protect yourself against debt collection harassment. Attorneys at Krohn & Moss Ltd. CONSUMER LAW CENTER® have helped thousands of victims of debt collection violations.
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The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act offers protection from illegal and unethical tactics of the debt collectors. A clear understanding of debt collection laws under the FDCPA will entail you to the power to fight the third party debt collectors.
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