What are the most common grounds for suing debt collectors?

Suing debt collectors is not an uncommon practice, especially in recent years. Although many debt collectors lawfully follow procedures to collect repayments, a number of debt collectors have been successfully sued and required to pay damages to debtors for violating legal practices.Many activities are forbidden under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, but here are a few that are the most common grounds for suing a debt collector:

• continued communication with the debtor after the debtor has written the agency stating that he or she does not want to be contacted on that matter anymore (this does not apply to notification that a lawsuit is being pursued against the debtor);
• communicating with the debtor after the collector knows that the debtor has obtained legal counsel;
• threats;
• continued calls to a debtor for a debt that is too old to collect on (there is a state statute of limitations on collection measures against unpaid debt [typically about 5 to 7 years], and collectors are not allowed to continue pursuing a debt that is past the statute of limitations);
• calling the wrong person for a debt;
• sending mailings that indicate the communication is from a law firm or relates to collecting a debt;
• telling third parties, such as employers, neighbors or family members about the debt, which could cause a debtor to be fired or humiliated; and
• calling at unreasonable times and multiple times in a day (debt collectors do not get to call 10 times a day at all hours).