Are Bill Collectors Calling You? 7 Tips You Should Know

When you fall behind on your bills, it’s inevitable that bill collectors will begin calling you.  Bill collectors calling to collect debts often use strong-arm tactics to get you pay.  Following are seven important tips for anyone who is being harassed by bill collectors. 

1. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) prohibits collection agencies from using abusive tactics and conduct to extract payment from debtors.  The conduct prohibited by the FDCPA includes:

• Calling third parties who do not owe the debt such as relatives, neighbors, or employers;
• Threatening foreclosure, repossession, garnishment, or to file a lawsuit without the actual intention of following through on the threat;
• Making repeated telephone calls or calling at unreasonable hours;
• Placing calls to the employer after being asked by the debtor not to call him at work;
• Using obscenity, racial slurs, or insults;
• Sending letters which appear to have come from the court;
• Seeking collection fees and interest charges not authorized by the contract;
• Making false statements to collect information about the debtor; and
• Threatening to have the debtor arrested if he does not pay the debt.

2. The FDCPA applies to personal, family, and household debts, including first and second mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, and medical bills;

3. The FDCPA applies to debt collectors who regularly collect debts owed to others; it does not apply to in-house collection agents;

4. You may instruct the debt collector to make all inquiries about the debt to your attorney;

5. After making the first contact with you, the debt collector must provide you with the following information in writing within five days:

• The amount supposedly owed;
• The name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed;
• That you have thirty days to dispute the debt in writing;
• That if you dispute the debt, the collection agency will provide you with written verification of the debt; and
• That the debtor collector will provide you with the name and address of the creditor upon your written request within the thirty day period.

6. You may request that the collection agency stop contacting you by sending a written notice instructing them to stop;

7. If you send the debt collector a letter disputing the debt within thirty days of receiving written notice of the debt, the debt collector must stop contacting you until it provides you with written verification of the debt. 

Getting Legal Help

If a debt collector violates the FDCPA, you have one year from the date of the violation to file a lawsuit.  The lawsuit may be filed in state or federal court and you may be entitled to money damages, including attorney’s fees and costs.  A qualified debt settlement attorney or consumer protection attorney can explain your rights under the FDCPA.