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Article Series: Debt Relief & Debt Consolidation
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What
Are 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 will 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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by SolveYourProblem.com : 2006
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