If you have taken out a loan from an individual or some company, there is a high chance that you will be reminded and pressured every single day to repay the debt. The creditors hire debt collectors or attorneys to collect the repayment of the loan on their behalf and these debt collectors chase after the debtors persistently until they pay their loan. They use false and misleading tactics to obtain the owed money, and abuse and harass the debtor. Therefore, to keep the attitudes of the debt collectors in check, Federal Trade Commission has enforced Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to protect the consumer’s rights. It deals with consumer debts, including different kinds of loans such as credit cards, student loans, medical loans, mortgages, etc.
Under the Act, the debt collectors are restrained from all these unlawful practices. They cannot threaten, harass, abuse, or use aggressive ways to get the money and cannot contact you at an odd time if you have an attorney representing you. They cannot use deceptive tactics or misrepresent themselves as a government agency. They cannot contact your family or friends and disclose that you owe any money. They cannot force you to pay a loan that you don’t even owe until they verify it. For verification, they are liable to give you all the information including the name of the creditor, and the amount owed so that you can dispute the debt, name, and address of the original creditor within five days of their first call.
If the debt collectors are violative of any of the provisions under the Act, they can be sanctioned and made liable to pay damages to the debtor by way of a lawsuit filed against them in the state court. Never be scared of these debt collectors who try to harass you or make you feel threatened always contact your lawyer as soon as you can.
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