According to the Federal debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), a debt collector cannot harass, abuse or threaten you while collecting a debt. Creditor harassment can take many shapes and forms and sometimes these creditors even neglects the FTC regulations while collecting debts. Consumers should know that they have some rights, which is there to protect them against creditor harassment. If a creditor harasses any debtor, he should immediately report it and take necessary legal steps.
Guidelines
1) Reach your creditors and never ignore any correspondence from their part, as doing this will just trigger the harassment. Even if you don’t have the required money to pay off your debt, at least talk to your creditors and explain your poor situation to them. If you want to solve the issue, try to come to a settlement.
2) Ask for a written letter confirming that you owe the money. If you have any doubt regarding the validity of the debt, tell your creditor to send something that will verify that you owe the debt. Your creditor must send you a verification of the debt within 30 days. Otherwise, must stop contacting you.
3) Inform the FTC if there is any kind of harassment by the creditor. As per the federal law, creditors and collection agencies cannot use profane language, threaten or misrepresent themselves over telephone. They can further never call a debtor before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. File a complaint against the collection agency if they break these rules.
4) Send a letter to your debt collector through registered post telling to stop calling you at home. Once receiving your letter, the collection agency should immediately stop calling you at home.
5) File for bankruptcy. Once you or your attorney file for bankruptcy, all communication regarding debt collection will stop immediately. Now, to collect the debt, the collectors have to appear at the bankruptcy court.
About The Author: The following article has been written by Angela Sanders. She is associated with Oak View Law Group (www.ovlg.com), A Trustworthy Bankruptcy Law Firm. She writes articles on various financial topics, such as Debt Consolidation, Debt Settlement, Bankruptcy, Investment Opportunities and Monetary Policies etc.