The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act exists to hold debt collectors accountable for any abusive or harassing behavior that they may take part in as they attempt to collect payments. It is important that as a debtor, you do not just sit down and accept the harassing calls to your personal phone or at your place of employment, letters in the mail, and abusive language from a debt collector. As with any other legal matter, you should make sure you are aware of your rights and act if they are being violated.
Debt collectors are allowed to contact you in an attempt to obtain the outstanding payments you owe. However, they aren’t allowed to abuse this power and call you at all hours of the day. Debt collectors are only allowed to contact you after 8:00 in the morning and no later than 9:00 at night. There are situations where they are not permitted to make attempts to contact you at your place of work. In fact, once you file for bankruptcy, an automatic stay goes into effect which makes it so debt collectors are not permitted to contact you anymore at all. Many people find this to be one of the biggest reliefs of filing bankruptcy.
Under the FDCPA, debt collectors must not threaten you in any way, call repeatedly in an attempt to be particularly annoying, falsely represent themselves as a government organization, or use foul language that is abusive towards you in any way.
If you believe that you are being harassed by a debt collector and are considering bankruptcy, contact our firm today.
If you require the services of an experienced bankruptcy attorney, contact the Law Offices of Allen A. Kolber, Esq. today to schedule a consultation and discuss your options.
