RJM Acquisitions: Legal Solutions for Harassment

Every state has a statute of limitations regarding debts and when the consumer may be legally forced to pay off their debt to a third party collection agency. The length of time varies in each jurisdiction and also by what type of contract the individual had with the lender. For example, an oral contract may be good for two years, whereas a written contract is enforceable for six years. RJM Acquisitions is a consumer debt collection agency that often buys debts from others that have already expired.

How Federal Law Protects Consumers

The Fair Debt Collections Practices (FDCPA) is a federal law that was enacted in 1977 to protect consumers from unfair practices used by debt collectors. The primary goal of the statute was to prevent collection agencies from harassing consumers into paying their debts. These unscrupulous agencies threaten people by telling them that they will be put in jail if they fail to pay their debts. The FDCPA has strict guidelines prohibiting agencies from doing the following:

• Contacting consumers before 8 am or after 9 pm and repeatedly calling their home or place of employment
• Using threatening language, racial slurs or insults
• Sending bogus letters that appear to have been issued by a court of law
• Posing as an attorney and falsely claiming that they are suing you

Often times they will contact the consumer's friends, family members and employer as a way of strong-arming the debtor into paying up. They also lie to people about the actual amount that is owed or tack on fees and interest that weren't part of the original contract.

Keeping the Barbarian Bill Collectors at the Gate

The first salvo you can launch against these barbarians is to verbally tell them to cease and desist all communications with you. Inform them that they must contact you through written communication only. Follow that up by:

• Sending them a letter requesting that they validate the debt by disclosing whom you owe money to and the amount of the debt.
• Telling them why you dispute the debt, i.e. has already been paid off, is past the statute of limitations or you never had a contract with the debtor to begin with and put this in writing.

If they continue their harassment, you have the right to sue them in court up to one year from the date the violation occurred. If you are successful in winning your lawsuit, you can recover damages and attorney's fees.

When You Need a Lawyer to Step In

Sometimes people actually owe legitimate debts that they are unable to pay. Consumers may fall behind on their payments due to job loss or other economic hardships. Hiring a debt settlement lawyer can help by working with your creditors to negotiate paying off the debt for less than you owe. They can also assist you in removing negative information on your credit report.