Going through financial hardship is a distressing experience. Getting harassing phone calls about your student loans, mortgage, or credit card debt only adds to your anxiety. While debt collectors can persistently try to collect money from you, it is illegal for a collector to harass you. Although the Federal Trade Commission does not tolerate the harassment of debtors, some debt collectors still employ illegal debt collecting practices against consumers. In this blog, we explain what you should do you if you are being harassed by debt collectors.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, debt collectors employed by third party collection agencies are restricted from engaging in behavior that can be considered harassment when trying to collect on a debt. Debt collectors are prohibited from doing the following things:
- Calling you at unreasonable hours of the day
- Continuously calling you
- Continuing communication after you have given written notice to stop
- Speaking to debtors after they have filed bankruptcy
- Misrepresenting themselves or deceiving a debtor
- Publishing your name or address on a "bad debt" list
- Threatening arrest or taking legal action against you
- Using profane or abusive language when speaking to you
- Reporting inaccurate information on your credit report
Be Calm & Deliberate With Collectors
Never lash-out at a debt collector who keeps harassing you. Always keep an even demeanor and don’t make any promises to pay what you can’t afford. Whenever you are speaking with a debt collector, assume that your conversations are being recorded. This means that if the collector becomes aggressive and gets riled up while you remain calm, you will come across looking better.
Keep Records
Whenever you communicate with a debt collector over the phone, make sure to get their name, call back number, and the company they work for. Take good notes when you are speaking to them, these notes will come in handy when you have to write a formal complaint or file a lawsuit. You should ask an experienced lawyer if you can legally record audio from debt collector calls in your state.
Talk to Our Legal Team Today
The attorneys at Atlas Consumer Law are committed to helping consumers who are being harassed by debt collectors. We want to secure the justice that you deserve. Our legal team can gather evidence of your harassment and file a lawsuit against your creditors. Let us protect your rights today.
Contact our Chicago debt collection lawyersto set up your free case evaluation.