Creditor Harassment - Chicago FDCPA Creditor Harassment Attorneys

Creditor Harassment

Do you have creditors badgering your friends or family about your whereabouts? Is your employer warning you that your job security is on the line due to creditors calling you at work? Are you afraid to answer the phone because of the abuse you receive from bill collectors? If you are a victim of this type of behavior, Spalding Law Center can help you put an end to your creditor harassment.

Debt collectors know that it can be embarrassing to owe money. There are plenty of good collectors out there that do not take advantage of this fact, and treat debtors with respect while operating above board. There are a few bad apples though, that give the debt collection industry a poor image. These collectors lack respect and will pursue whatever means they can to embarrass debtors into paying. They take advantage of the fact that it can be even more embarrassing to be accused of not paying one’s debt. They often decide that it makes better business sense for them to practice abusive behavior if it will lead to their desired result of payment, and to suffer any penalties as a cost of doing business. Debt collectors position themselves so that they wield the power. It is important that consumer debtors understand their rights under federal law, so that instead of being victims, they can play a part in stopping the culprits.

 

Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA)

Congress understands that creditor harassment is a problem, and so it enacted the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) to halt the behavior and make it illegal for debt collectors to ignore its regulations when attempting to collect debts. Since the bad creditors unfortunately continue to break the law, hoping that you will cave under their pressure since you are not aware of your legal rights, your best weapon is knowledge.

Spalding Law Center would like to educate you so that you will know if any of your creditors are breaking the law. If you have a debt collector that is performing some of these prohibited actions, then Spalding Law Center will stop the harassment. Not only that, we will help you recover any actual damages without you having to pay any attorney fees. If you need to also file bankruptcy, an average settlement will be enough to cover the expenses of your bankruptcy case.

The FDCPA is the federal law that governs the way third party debt collectors who regularly collect debts operate. Many states have their own laws similar to the FDCPA. The FDCPA, or the “Act,” covers personal, family, and household debts, but not business debts. For example, collections by collection agencies collecting on credit card, medical, and vehicular debt are covered, rather than actions by Chase bank, a hospital, or Ford Motor Credit, collecting on their own accounts.

A collector is allowed to contact you in person, or by mail, phone, or fax. He may not contact you at an inconvenient time or place without your permission. This means he cannot call before 8a.m. or after 9 p.m. to your job after you tell him this is not acceptable. You can stop the action by writing a letter to the creditor demanding that he do so. Upon receipt, the creditor may acknowledge that he will stop or take specific action, but must cease the prohibited contact. This does not mean you no longer owe the debt. You must still pay for it or file bankruptcy if you are unable to pay. If you hire an attorney, your debt collector must contact your attorney instead. Our bankruptcy clients already take advantage of this service that we offer, even when their creditor action does not rise to the level of harassment. Without an attorney, a debt collector of yours may contact other people, but generally only once to find out your home and work location and phone number. He also may not reveal to the third parties that you owe him money.

After you are first contacted, your collector must send you a written notice explaining to whom you owe money, what amount you owe, and how you can dispute a mistake. If you reply with written notice that you do not owe the money within 30 days, the collector must cease contact. He is not allowed to collect during those 30 days. If he sends you a bill or other proof of the debt, he can renew legal collection activities.

 

Prohibited Debt Collection Practices

Creditors that do not adhere to the process mentioned above are in violation of the Act. There are a number of other actionable offenses.

Debt collectors may not threaten a lawsuit when there is no actual intent to sue at the time the threat is made. Courts have ruled that when a lawsuit is not practically feasible due to a low balance, under $250, for example, then you can assume there is no intent to sue. Also, if you have an out of state collection agency, you can generally assume that they do not have anyone licensed to practice law in your state. It would therefore be impossible for them to file suit when making the threat. The employees at the collection agency cannot imply that they control the decision to litigate. For example, an employee at a collection firm cannot say that he will refer the matter to an attorney and that he WILL sue. A non-lawyer cannot make this decision.

Debt collectors cannot threaten to take action that cannot legally be taken. For example, they cannot threaten to have you arrested.

As mentioned, the collectors cannot disclose the debt to third parties other than a spouse or attorney. Voicemails count as a prohibited communication when the message discloses the debt owed.

Debt collectors may not use any false or misleading statements. There are several offenses dealing with false statements. They cannot falsely imply that they are attorneys or government representatives. The debt collectors also cannot imply that they operate or work for a credit bureau. They cannot falsely represent the amount of the debt or whether or not papers being sent are legal forms. They cannot falsely imply that you have committed a crime. They cannot use a false name. They also may not give false information about you to anyone, including a credit bureau.

As mentioned, collectors cannot communicate with debtors after having reason to believe that the debtors are represented by legal counsel. Verbal notice is acceptable, but the contact information of the attorney must be provided.

As mentioned, collectors cannot communicate with a debtor at an inconvenient time or place, such as his place of employment after being told the calls are not permitted. The collectors cannot communicate with a debtor before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.

Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse debtors or any third parties they contact. For example, they may not call you names, use threats of violence or harm, or use obscene language or curse. They may not call multiple times a day to annoy someone. They may not publish a list of consumers who refuse to pay the debt (except to a credit bureau).

Debt collectors may not engage in unfair practices when they try to collect a debt. For example, they may not collect more than the amount of the debt, deposit a post-dated check prematurely, contact via a postcard, or threaten to take your property unless this can be done legally.

Debt collectors must disclose during every phone call, "I am a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and information obtained will be used for that purpose." They must also disclose in subsequent communications, "This is from a debt collector."

 

Your Right to Sue

You have the right to file suit against a collection agency that performs one of these prohibited actions within one year from the date the law was violated. If the collection agency is a law firm, you can still sue. If you win, you may recover money for actual damages you suffered plus an additional amount up to $1,000. You can also recover court costs and attorney fees. A typical settlement is $1000-$2000. If you are able to record the violation on tape, your recovery could be ten times that much. The type of violation, damage suffered, and available proof can make a big difference here. It is very important that you do not delete any debt collection voicemails. You should also keep any collection letters and any contemporaneous notes that you are able to make regarding the time, place, and details of the call.

 

Bankruptcy Laws Also Stop Harassment

Besides writing a demand letter to debt collectors to cease contact, or resorting to a lawsuit under the FDCPA, you can also rely on bankruptcy laws to put an end to creditor harassment. Your creditors will receive notice of the filing immediately after you have filed either a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy. The automatic stay instantly goes into effect to protect you. Unlike the FDCPA protection in which just third party debt collectors must cease contact with you, ALL creditors are prohibited from continuing collection actions against you after the automatic stay goes into effect through bankruptcy. Most creditors understand this prohibition quite well, and are good about heeding the power of the bankruptcy protections. In that rare instance in which a creditor continues to willfully defy the automatic stay, we will gladly motion the Bankruptcy Court to impose severe sanctions on the violating creditor. If you have a creditor harassing you that will not seem to go away, then give Spalding Law Center a call, and we will gladly step in!