Debt Collection: The Laws and Your Rights

Fair debt collection is the right of every consumer. Debt can happen to the best of us; sometimes circumstances do not allow us the funds to pay each debt, for this reason – it is important for each consumer to be aware of their rights when it comes to debt collection. The consumer owing debt is referred to as the debtor. When the debtor, for any reason, falls behind in these payments the debtor is liable to be contacted by a debt collector. Contrary to popular belief, debt collectors do have legislation they are forced to follow – and cannot cross these lines when trying to recover the funds.

There is one piece of legislature that dictates fair practice through debt collection. This is referred to as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The act dictates how debt collectors may contact the debtor, which is through the means of telephones, facsimile machines, and letters or in person.

Many consumers are unaware that debt collectors may not contact the debtor at work under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The debt collector may not contact the debtor before 8 am, and after 9 pm in the evening. Times outside of these ranges are referred to as inconvenient times. Many consumers are unaware that they have the ability to stop debt collectors from contacting the consumer, all that needs to be completed is a letter written to the collector, notifying them that you wish to stop receiving notice.
Once this has been completed, the debtor still owes money to the collector, but the notifications should stop under fair debt collection ploicies. The money will still have to be paid to the original company, or to the company. For this reason, the debt should be paid in full before the consumer begins this act.

Debt collectors do not have the right to tell anyone but an attorney that you owe money, but they are allowed to contact people to try and obtain contact information of the debtor. As stated before, the collector is unable to convey any information about financial matters to anyone but the attorney.

There are other aspects of debt collection that must be adhered to – a debt collector cannot threaten or harass the debtor, and cannot threaten jail or any other legal ramifications if payment is not made. Debt collectors cannot threaten false pretenses, or give false credit information to the report of the consumers. No debt collector is able to create false documents which have the ability to appear as court preceded documents to put fear in the debtor. Debt collectors may not cash a post-dated check before the agreed upon date, or contact you in a public means such as postcard which impedes the privacy of the consumer. In no means, can the debt collector lie to the debtor, saying that legal action will be taken, when they have no intention of doing so. Most important, the debt collection agencies are not allowed to take more money from the consumer, than that of the debt.

It is important for the consumer to have access to information regarding the company, the management team and other information regarding to the collection agency. For this reason, it is important to be aware of which company that the debtor is speaking with, to avoid scams within the debt collection industry.

One of the most important rights of a debtor to know about debt collection is the process of debt collection. Once a debt has become defaulted, many times this debt will be sold to collection agencies for a fraction of the costs of the actual debt. For this reason, many consumers are unaware that debt can be negotiated, and debtors can negotiate these totals with the collection company. Many people have negotiated the amount owing up to fifty percent! Using these tools, and consumers being aware of their rights leads to better debt collection awareness.