Re: Collector calls
This response assumes that (1) the debt is a personal (non-commercial) debt; and, (2) the debt is being collected by a person who regularly collects debts owed to others and not by the entity that the debt is actually owed to. If both conditions are correct, than the debt collector’s activities are covered by the Federal Fair Debt Collect Act (the, “Act”).
The Act makes some debt collector behavior illegal. For example, a debt collector may contact other people concerning your debt, but only to find out where you live, what your phone number is, and where you work. Debt collectors usually are prohibited from contacting such third parties more than once. In most cases, the collector may not tell anyone other than you that you owe money. In addition, debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse anyone or any third parties they contact. Use of obscene or profane language would be a violation of the Act.
Another benefit of the Act is that you can stop a debt collector from contacting you by writing a letter to the collection agency telling them to stop. Once the agency receives your letter, they may not contact you again except to say there will be no further contact or to notify you that the debt collector or creditor intends to take some specific action. Of course, sending such a letter to a collector does not make the debt go away if you actually owe it. You could still be sued by the debt collector or your original creditor.
If there has been a violation of the Act, you have the right to sue a collector in a state or federal court within one year from the date from the date the law was violated. If you win, you may recover money for the damages you suffered plus an additional amount up to $1,000. Court costs and attorney’s fees also can be recovered. A group of people also may sue a debt collector and recover money for damages up to $500,000, or one percent of the collectors net worth, whichever is less.
This is only a summary of a very few provisions of the Act. The Act contains a lot more consumer protections. I join the other reponders to this question by recommending that you consult an attorney. It is only through enforcement of the Act will all of us benefit from its protections.
This answer, though responsive to the question, is general in nature. It is not designed to be and should not be relied on as your sole source of information when analyzing and resolving a specific legal issue. Each fact situation is different; the laws are constantly changing. If you have specific questions regarding a particular fact situation, I urge you to consult with competent legal counsel.
