When you owe money, receiving calls from debt collectors can be stressful and intimidating. However, it’s important to remember that you have rights. Debt collectors are regulated by specific laws designed to protect you from abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices.
Understanding these limitations can empower you to recognize when a debt collector crosses the line.
Keeping all of this in mind, here are key red flags indicating that a debt collector is violating your rights.
- Harassing or Threatening You
Debt collectors may not threaten violence, use obscene language, or repeatedly call to annoy or harass you. While they can contact you to collect a legitimate debt, there’s a fine line between assertive collections and harassment.
If a collector continuously calls after you’ve asked them to stop or uses threatening language, they’re breaking the law. You don’t have to continually put up with these calls. Instead, you should tell them to stop and then contact an attorney if they don’t.
- Providing False or Misleading Information
Collectors have to be truthful and transparent. They can’t misrepresent the amount owed, pretend to be law enforcement officials, or falsely claim that you have committed a crime. Unfortunately, they will do this in the hopes that you don’t know your rights.
If you encounter a collector lying about their identity, the amount owed, or the consequences of nonpayment, it’s a clear violation. Contact an attorney and hold them accountable.
- Discussing Your Debt with Unauthorized Parties
Your financial matters are private. Debt collectors cannot disclose your debt to anyone other than you, your spouse, or your attorney. They can contact third parties only once to gather basic location information about you.
According to attorney Jibrael S. Hindi, “Collectors are required to identify themselves, their motive, and their employer (when asked) to any third party they call to gather information about a debtor. They may only contact third parties once to discover a debtor’s location, unless the information is found to be erroneous. Should the collector learn that the debtor has retained a lawyer, they must cease direct communications to the debtor and only communicate with the lawyer.”
If you find out that a collector has discussed your debt with friends, family members, or colleagues beyond these limits, they’re breaking the law.
- Ignoring Your Request to Verify the Debt
You have the right to request verification of your debt. Once you make this request in writing, the collector has to provide proof that you owe the debt, including details such as the original creditor and amount owed. If they continue collection attempts without providing this verification, it’s illegal.
- Contacting You at Inconvenient Times or Places
Debt collectors are restricted from contacting you at inconvenient or unreasonable hours, typically defined as before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m., unless you explicitly agree to it.
Additionally, if you’ve informed collectors that your workplace prohibits personal calls, they’re legally required to stop contacting you there. (However, if you have not given them warning, they are within their rights to make legal phone calls to your place of work.)
- Misrepresenting Legal Actions or Consequences
Collectors cannot falsely threaten lawsuits, wage garnishments, or property seizures unless they genuinely intend to take such legal actions and have the legal grounds to do so. Misleading you about possible legal consequences or implying that nonpayment is a criminal offense is unlawful and deceptive.
- Continuing to Contact You After You’ve Retained an Attorney
Once you’ve hired a lawyer and informed the debt collector, they must cease direct communication with you. All further communications have to occur through your attorney. Ignoring this requirement and continuing to contact you directly is a violation of your consumer rights.
- Applying Payments to Debts You Dispute
If you have multiple debts with a collector and dispute any specific debt, they can’t apply payments you make toward the disputed debt without your consent. That means all payments must be directed to debts you acknowledge unless otherwise agreed upon.
- Using Unfair Practices
Debt collectors are forbidden from using unfair or unconscionable methods to collect debts. This includes depositing postdated checks early, threatening to repossess property without the legal right, or adding unauthorized charges or fees to your debt.
What to Do if Your Rights Are Violated
If a debt collector violates any of these rules, you have options.
- First, document the violations thoroughly. Keep detailed notes of calls, texts, emails, and any interactions. Next, report the collector to authorities such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), or your state attorney general’s office.
- Secondly, consider seeking legal help. A consumer rights attorney can offer valuable assistance, clarifying your rights, and taking appropriate legal action on your behalf. An experienced lawyer can even halt illegal collection practices and help you secure compensation for any harm you’ve experienced.
Understanding what debt collectors can and cannot do empowers you to enforce your rights and protect yourself from unfair practices. Don’t take these situations lightly. You’re not just helping yourself – you’re also helping others by holding collectors accountable.
A professional writer with over a decade of incessant writing skills. Her topics of interest and expertise range from health, nutrition and psychology.
