Collection Agency Harrassment | It’s Against The Law

We all make mistakes, but you should not have to endure the pain and stress collection agencies put on you with their harassment tactics. Yes, we know they are only trying to scare us into paying the bill, but we are human and deserve to be treated as such. Consumers may be unaware that collections agencies are governed by the FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) and the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act.) Knowing that there are laws one must follow in collection practices will help you put a stop to the harassment at once.

Collection agencies get their power in bullying the consumer. Be firm and stand your ground when speaking with a collection agency. Harassment from them is against the law. If much time is spent on the telephone with a collection agency you can bet they will begin to be rude and upset you. When you begin to feel upset or threatened, simply hang up. There are no laws stating that you must speak to a collection agency. You may be doing harm to stay on the phone upset and to say something a collection agency may later try to use against you.

If at all possible, record all telephone conversations you have with the collection agency that is harassing you. Collect as much information concerning the collection agency as you can. Pay close attention to their physical address. By law, as a consumer, you can and should send a limited cease and desist letter to the collection agency immediately. A cease and desist letter is simply a request from the consumer to cease contact.

Cease and desist letters can be written two different ways. You simply can ask the collection agency to limit their contact with you to written letters only, or you can request that they cease all contact including telephone and written mail. Always request delivery confirmation when sending cease and desist letters. Unless you have solid proof, a collection agency considers that it never happened. Save your delivery confirmation as some collectors have no regard to the law. Once the agency has received this letter, it is illegal for them to contact you again based on your specifications.

Debt validation is a process many consumers are unaware of. Put simply, debt validation is a consumer’s request for the collection agency to prove that the debt they’re chasing actually belongs to the consumer. It is recommended that a consumer send a debt validation letter to the collection agency. By law the collection agency must be able to supply the consumer with the name of the original creditor, the original amount owed on the account, and the date the account was opened.

As a consumer you can also inquire about the owner of the debt. It is wise to know if the collection agency actually owns the debt, or is they are just collecting on behalf of the original creditor. If by chance the collection agency own the debt you can request the bill of sale. If the collection agency can not legally prove the debt in question is in fact yours, then they can not report it on your consumer credit report. If a collection agency does not provide proper debt validation it is recommended to dispute the debt with the credit reporting agencies if in fact they have already reported the debt on your credit report.

Collection agencies will often time break the laws of the FDCPA and the FCRA. Documenting their violations along the way may help you later on. If a collection agency continues to harass you then you should report them. You can report a collection agency to the police as well as the FTC (federal trade commission.) You can also report the collection agency to the Attorney General in your state and the agency’s state and to state debt collector regulatory agencies if available. Make sure when dealing with a collection agency that you are an informed consumer. Never take any form of collection agency harassment. Take a stand and put the laws to work for you.