Federal Debt Collection Law Learn What Your Rights Are - Don't Let Anyone Harass You

Federal Debt Collection Law

Learn What Your Rights Are - Don't Let Anyone Harass You

Federal debt collection law is in the form of the FDCPA, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This act governs what debt collectors can and cannot do when trying to collect a debt. Another federal law is the FCRA, the Fair Credit Reporting Act. This law is to ensure accuracy and privacy of information used in consumer reports.

State collection laws vary, so it's important to know what the law is in your state if you're being pursued by a collection agency. In this article we will only be discussing federal debt collection law.

Get Detailed Information

When you are first contacted by a collection agency it's good to find out all you can, such as:

• How much they say you owe
• The name of the collection agency
• The name of the caller
• Who the creditor is
• An address and fax number for correspondence

This information will be very useful later on, for instance if you had to file a complaint or lawsuit. Also, take notes of any phone conversations and include the time, date, and who you're talking to. Use certified mail for any correspondence with a return receipt requested.

What You Require

Let the caller know the following, if these are your wishes:

• You want all correspondence to be by mail
• No one is to contact your employer, friends, or anyone else

There is an exception to the above, that under federal debt collection law, if a collection agency doesn't know where you live, they are allowed to contact friends or family to try and locate you.

Knowing Your Rights

You don't have to tolerate harassing phone calls, threats, or abusive language. You also have a right to privacy. These are the standards set by the FDCPA and enforced by the FTC, the Federal Trade Commission. Collectors have a job to do but they're required to conduct themselves in a professional manner.

Federal debt collection law prohibits:

• A collector posing as an attorney or government employee
• A collector saying that you committed a crime
• Sending you documents that are made to look like legal papers
• Sending you legal documents and stating that they're not
• A collector not being truthful about how much you owe.
• A collector threatening arrest if you don't pay
• Threatening you with violence
• Any kind of threats to try and make you pay

Federal law also prohibits:

• Exchanging information about a person with other agencies
• Advertising a debt for sale
• Leaving messages about you to a third party
• Distributing a list of debtors to its creditor subscribers
• Sending you mail that indicates it's from a debt collector
• Sending you a postcard