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March/April 2020 | www.livingwell60plus.com |
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Dealing with Debt Collectors KNOW YOUR RIGHTS by Angela S. Hoover, Staff Writer
It’s important to know your rights when dealing with debt collectors through the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The FDCPA covers credit card debt, auto loans, medical bills, student loans, mortgages and other household debts but it does not cover business debts, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Debt collectors have restrictions on what they cannot say or do when calling. They cannot: • Call before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. unless you ask them to. • Harass you with numerous repeat calls. • Call you at work if you have asked them to stop. • Talk to anyone but you, your spouse or your attorney about the debt. • Use abusive or obscene language. • Misrepresent the amount of your debt. • Falsely claim to be an attorney, law enforcement official or a credit bureau representative. • Threaten to sue you, garnish wages or seize property unless they actually intend to do so. • Attempt to collect interest, fees or other charges on top of the amount you owe, unless the original contract or your state law allows it. • Apply a payment for a debt toward another debt. The FDCPA gives debt collectors some rights, too. A collector can contact other people to find out your address, your home phone number and where you work but usually cannot contact them more than once. They can also sue you or take money
from your paycheck, but only after they get a garnishment court order. There are effective ways to deal with debt collectors. Talk to them at least once to try to resolve the matter. Within five days of contacting you, a collector must send you a written statement, called a validation notice, stating the amount of money they believe you owe, the name of the creditor and what action to take if you believe you don’t owe the money, says the FDCPA. So before even engaging in conversation with a debt collector, ask them to send you the information in writing. Keep the conversation as short as possible. “They’re interrogating you. They’re trying to determine if you have the capacity to pay,” said John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education for Credit.com. “Say as little as possible.” “Stick with the facts. Be a broken record,” said Gerri Detweiler, co-author of Debt Collection Answers: How to Use Debt Collection Laws to Protect Your Rights. Here are some ways to get collection agencies to stop calling you. The FTC’s Facts for Consumers series publication Debt Collection FAQs: A Guide for Consumers recommends you: Notify the collector in writing to stop contacting you. Make a copy of the letter for your records and send the original by certified mail with a return receipt. Sending a letter to stop contact does not get rid of the debt; the creditor or the debt collection agency can still sue you to collect the debt. Once the collector receives your letter, they may not contact you again, with two exceptions: to confirm they will not contact you again or to let you know they
or the creditor intend to take a specific action, such as filing a lawsuit. If you don’t believe you owe the money, dispute the debt in writing. Send it by certified mail so the debt collection agency can’t deny receiving it, says Jeffrey Suher, a consumer attorney in Pittsburgh specializing in debt collection cases. You can request they send you a verification of debt, which would include a copy of the bill. Keep records of phone calls from debt collectors and save messages. Maintain a file with these notes and copies of all written correspondence to and from the collector. Write down the day and time of every collection call, the collection agency’s name, the amount it says you owe and a summary of the conversation. A paper trail could be essential if the debt collector breaks the law. Debt collectors have a certain number of years they can sue you and win to collect a debt. This statute of limitation usually begins when you fail to make a
