by LEO™
If you are having financial difficulties right now, you have plenty of company across the nation. Financial woes have become front page news and stories abound across the internet about families who are in trouble with debt, foreclosure and unemployment.
If you are being hounded by debt collectors it pays to know the rules. There are laws set up by the federal government that cover what debt collectors can and cannot do. The following is a list of things that you need to know about debt collections that may help you keep your sanity.
- Debt collectors often buy charged off debts at pennies on the dollar. These are bundled together and actually sold on the stock market. It is not unusual for the debt collectors to pay as little as 7 to 10 cents per dollar of debt. This means that you can usually settle them for far under the actual amount owed.
- Debt collectors often don’t have the proper information to legally collect the debt. If you request it, the collector has 30 days to send you: the original creditor’s name and address, the total amount owed, proof that they have the right to collect the debt, proof that you actually owe the debt. If they cannot provide you with this information, they are not allowed to continue collection efforts or to submit negative information to the Credit Reporting Agency. You would be surprised at the number of times that these debt collectors just disappear when required to prove that you owe them money.
- Debt collectors are not allowed to contact you at your place of employment if you tell them not to do so. It is against the law for them to knowingly endanger your job. It is punishable by a fine of up to $1000 by federal law.
- Debt collectors are not allowed to call you prior to 8 am or after 9 pm. This is part of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. Again, you can sue them for up to $1000 for breaking this law.
- Debt collectors are required to stop contacting you if you send them a letter telling them to cease and desist. After receiving the letter they can only contact you to acknowledge that they won’t be contacting you further or to notify you of any legal action they are taking.
- Debt collectors are only allowed to contact people that you know to inquire about your name, address and contact information. They are only allowed to contact them one time and they are NOT allowed to disclose that you owe them money.
- Debt collectors are not allowed to harass you by telephone. They are not allowed to threaten, oppress or abuse you or any of your contacts. They are not allowed to threaten legal action unless this is a step they intend to take.
- Debt collectors are not allowed to collect any amount greater than the debt that you owe unless such charge is allowed in your state. Debt collectors will often add charges and fees to your original debt to inflate the amount owed. Check with your individual state to verify that these charges are allowed.
- Debt collectors are not allowed to contact you by postcard or any other form of mail that states on the outside that this is a collection attempt.
- There is a statute of limitations on debts. This varies from state to state. If your debt was incurred and went delinquent years ago, check your state’s laws. If it is outside of the statute of limitations they cannot attempt to collect it.
All of this information and more is available at the Federal Trade Commission website. They publish a brochure for consumers that explains your rights and what you can do if your rights have been violated.
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Tags: debt, debt settlement
Thank you for posting these often unknown, yet very important facts about debt collectors. Immigrants, particularly if they only know a limited amount of English, remain particularly vulnerable.
[...] presents 10 Things You Need to Know About Debt Collectors posted at Oh My Aching Debts. Being hassled by debt collectors is unpleasant but it doesn’t [...]
Never borrow. Pay only with cash, not with credit or debit cards. Save your money and buy everything with cash. Never obtain a mortgage. You will not save money by obtaining a mortgage instead of renting. They will get you. Stop being adult children.
[...] article on 10 Things You Need To Know About Debt Collectors was in Carnival of Debt Management at Credit Card [...]
Note that you can, in fact, collect on out of statute debt, the limitation is that you can’t sue. The FTC is the regulating body, and they provide excellent information, as well as the actual text of the FDCPA.
Thank you for posting these often unknown,
The comment about the time they are supppose to contact you does that count for the time zone you are located in? what if they are pacific and im eastern then?
thanks