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Last Updated: Feb 18th, 2008 - 14:39:01 |
Know Your Rights Against Debt Collectors
There are times when you have no recourse but to contract a debt. But with the many financial burdens imposed by this day and age, we sometimes fail to satisfy such debts when they become due and demandable. The lending institution would naturally try to collect. This is but the natural process of debt collecting.
Things get ugly, however, when lending institutions hire debt collection agencies to do the dirty work for them. These agencies have collectors that seem to hound you everywhere, be it at your home or at work. They would call you over the phone and inform you of their attempt to collect a debt.
Different people react in different ways. Others feign their whereabouts. Others just drop the line. Others engage in a verbal repartee with the collector. Nonetheless, no matter how the debtor would react, calls from debt collectors can sometimes ruin anyone’s day.
But even if you owe the lending institution some money, this doesn’t mean that you are not entitled to any rights whatsoever. The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act ensures the least amount of harassment that a debtor has to endure from attempts to collect a debt. If you know the rights delineated by the said law, you would be able to learn when the collector is right and when such collector can actually be considered as harassing your good stead.
So, the trick against debt collectors is quite simple: know your rights!
Here are the most basic of these rights as provided by the aforementioned law.
• A collector is not allowed to contact you at inconvenient times. This would be the hours before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m. If you receive a call from a collector during the prohibited hours, do inform him or her that he or she is violating the law and that you wish your rights to be respected.
• A collector is allowed to call you at work, but never to a point that it would impede the performance of your work. The reason why collectors try to contact you at work is because they want to strike some fear into your heart. After all, if your superiors would learn about your debt, the same might affect your chances of promotion. This is what the collector is aiming at. So receive the call yourself and inform him or her that he or she should refrain from calling you at the workplace since it is detrimental to what your employer is paying you to do.
• A collector is not allowed to divulge the collection attempt to anyone except you and your spouse. This is an inviolable prohibition.
• A collector should state only the facts. He or she should not state any misrepresentation to compel you into paying your obligation. This refers to the amount of the debt, the agency being represented, and the consequences of your continued non-payment.
• A collector should not threaten you with harm. Additionally, a collector is strictly prohibited from verbally abusing you even when an argument would ensue as a result of the attempt to collect a debt.
• A collector cannot ask you to deposit a post-dated check prematurely. This is considered by law as an unfair practice.
• A collector cannot place a collect call for any attempt to settle a debt.
• A collector cannot demand an amount higher than the debt you have incurred.
• You can redirect the collector to your legal representation, if you have retained the services of one.
If any of these violations are committed by the collector, you can simply ignore his or her calls or lodge a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Remember, the law grants some rights for you, and it would be best to know these rights so that you’ll know when the collector is stepping beyond what he or she is allowed to do.
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