Understanding the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

At its core, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) was designed to promote fair debt collection among creditors and collection agencies throughout the United States. In so doing, it simultaneously addresses the issues of abusive collection practices and provides a means for consumers to dispute and/ or obtain validation of debt information in their attempts to ensure that the information pertaining to their case is 100% accurate. In order to promote these goals to the fullest extent, a strict set of guidelines was created under which debt collectors and the agencies they work for are expected to abide. Specifically, the act stipulates the behaviors of conduct that will and will not be permitted when collecting on the debts owed by a person, addressing how business should be conducted as well as defining the rights allowed to consumers that are involved with debt collectors. Penalties were also created as a way to curb these types of problems from continuing further, and remedies for violations of the act are constantly being developed.

Covered by the governances of the FDCPA are the actions of debt collectors throughout the nation, particularly those individuals that play an instrumental role, either directly or indirectly, in the collection of debts owed by a consumer in the U.S. Under the definitions provided in the act, consumers and debtors are classified as those that engage in personal, household, and/ or family transactions of any degree; businesses in debt are not included in the act's protections. Specifically, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits the following conduct:

• Creditors that disregard requests to have their communications with debtors cease
• Creditors that misrepresent or deceive debtors
• Creditors that call at inappropriate hours of the day, specifically those that call outside the time frame of 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. local time
• Creditors that attempt to communicate with third parties in order to collect on an individual's debt
• Creditors that use profanity in their communications with a debtor
• Creditors that report false or inaccurate information on a consumer's credit report
• Creditors that make attempts at communication with a debtor while the debtor is at work
• Creditors that purposefully take action to cause a telephone to ring off the hook
• Creditors that threaten arrest or legal action of any sort when the prospect is not truly under contemplation by any legal officials
• Creditors that continue to pursue a debtor that has obtained legal representation

Any and all of these acts are strictly forbidden among debt collectors in every state of the nation. When they are conducted anyway, the debtor may then be given permission to take legal action of their own. As stipulated by the FDCPA, collectors are not only permitted from behaving in certain ways, they are also expected to conduct themselves in certain ways. Included in the behavioral expectations of collectors are: identifying themselves for who they truly are and notifying consumers of their intentions; notifying the debtor/ consumer of their right to dispute the debt under collection; giving the name and address of the original creditor to the debtor now under scrutiny; and providing verification of a debt to the consumer that is now being pursued. The Federal Trade Commission holds authority over the administrative enforcement of FDCPA transactions. If you have grievances of any type that relate to the regulations stipulated in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, then you will need to involve both a legal professional and the Fair Trade Commission Act at once.

Heston Ciment is a bankruptcy law firm based in Texas. If you are currently struggling from debt issues of any nature, then you should at once contact an El Paso bankruptcy attorney from the firm for the experienced legal representation required of cases of this nature. With more than 75 combined years of legal experience to their names, associates at the firm have assisted with the cases of well over 5,000 clients in the state of Texas, many with abundant success. From credit restoration to debt settlement to creditor harassment defense, the firm is prepared to take on even the most difficult cases and work to obtain a positive outcome for the clients it services. Therefore, when you are in need of professional, reliable legal defense you should consider none other than an associate from Heston Ciment.

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How to Report Unethical Debt Collection Callers

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) has been around for almost 35 years. The FDCPA is a federal law that applies to every state. In other words, everyone is protected by the FDCPA. Its purposes are to eliminate abusive practices in the collection of consumer debts, to promote fair debt collection, and to provide consumers with an avenue for disputing and obtaining validation of debt information in order to ensure the information's accuracy. The FDCPA creates guidelines under which debt collectors may conduct business, defines rights of consumers involved with debt collectors, and prescribes penalties and remedies for violations of the FDCPA. The FDCPA is essentially a laundry list of what debt collects can and cannot do while collecting a debt, as well as things debt collectors must do while collecting a debt.

What Practices Are Off Limits For Debt Collectors?

False statements: They may not lie when they are trying to collect a debt.

For example, they may not:

1. Falsely claim that they are attorneys or government representatives,
2. Falsely claim that you have committed a crime,
3. Falsely represent that they work for a credit reporting company,
4. Misrepresent the amount of money you owe,
5. Indicate that papers they send you are legal forms if they are not, or
6. Indicate that papers they send to you are not legal forms if they are.

Debt collectors also are prohibited from saying that:

1. You will be arrested if you do not pay your debt,
2. They will seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages, unless they are permitted by law to take the action and intend to do so, or
3. Legal action will be taken against you, if doing so would be illegal, or if they do not intend to take the action.

They may not:

1. Give false credit information about you to anyone, including a credit reporting company,
2. Send you anything that looks like an official document from a court or government agency if it is not, or
3. Use a false company name.

Unfair practices: Debt collectors may not engage in unfair practices when they try to collect a debt. For example, They may not:

1. Try to collect any interest, fee, or other charge on top of the amount you owe unless the contract that created your debt-or your state law-allows the charge,
2. Deposit a post-dated check early, or
3. Take or threaten to take your property unless it can be done legally.

A debt collector who fails to comply with any provision of the FDCPA is responsible for any actual damages sustained, punitive damages, and statutory damages up to $1,000.00. Plus, the FDCPA has a fee-shift provision. This means, the collection agency pays your attorney's fees and costs.

If a collection agency has harassed you over a debt, whether they called you excessively, threatened you, called you at work despite knowing you cannot receive these type of calls at work, disclosed your debt to a third party, tried to collect a debt from you that you did not owe, or left you a voicemail message without the proper disclosures, contact Agruss Law Firm, LLC, for a free case evaluation. Founding attorney, Michael Agruss, has settled over 1,500 debt collection harassment cases. Now, Agruss Law Firm, LLC, wants to help you, too.

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Debt Collection - Tips On Debt Collection Strategies

Debt collection can be a problem when you are the one owed money. Whatever the circumstances, if the money was borrowed, the result of an accident or injury to yourself or your property, you have a right to collect. It could be contract disputes or even allegations of property damage.

First approach the person face to face and ask for the money owed. Remind them of the circumstances surrounding the debt and the timeframe the debt incurred. Wait for them to answer.

They will either pay on the spot or feel compelled to pay off the debt in a satisfactory manner or they will want to be a problem, a thorn in your life. If they verbally abuse you, walk away. One should not confront the person any further.

Next send a certified letter to that person or business. List the amount of money that is due to satisfy the debt and any facts surrounding the debt, especially the date or dates evolved. Request how and when you expect payment. Make the letter to the point and businesslike. The Post Office will inform you when the letter was delivered or in the case it is undeliverable, you'll get informed.

If the letter was returned undeliverable, you'll need to locate a viable address and resend the letter. Contact acquaintances, friends, relatives or whatever you can sleuth out to get a current address.

Depending on the amount of money, small claims court may be a viable solution. Generally, cases involving a small amount of money usually less than $10,000 are addressed in this setting. Before filing your suit, familiarize yourself with the court. With a small claims court there is no jury. If you are looking for a jury trial, you'll have to go to a civil court.

The person being sued is the defendant; the person doing the suing is the plaintiff.

For higher amounts of money you'll need to look into a higher court to get the matter resolved. But whatever your decision, make a concerted effort to gather any and all evidence in your favor. It could be checks, photographs of property damage, receipts and other forms of correspondence, contracts, etc. If there were witnesses, get notarized statements from these individuals in regard to what they observed.

When a suit is filed, the defendant has a certain time to respond for a counter claim. There is a statue of limitations and the plaintiff should file suit before that window of opportunity disappears. Also you have to select the location or venue in which you want to file your claim. In most cases it will be the court that is closest to your home, but it could be a court closes to the address of who you are suing.

Next you'll need to fill out the plaintiff's claim form and pay the filing fee to the court clerk. Filing fees are generally based on the amount of the claim with higher monetary claims costing more. Once the form is filed your hearing will be scheduled and the opposing party will be served with a copy of your claim.

Serving this copy is best done by a licensed registered process server. A certified letter is the least desirable because if it is not signed for, it will not count as having been served. When your proof of service is at hand, present it to the court clerk.

At the date of your hearing follow the instructions given by the bailiff and the judge. You'll tell your side of the story first and then the opposing party will tell their side. The judge will consider the evidence and render a decision. If the served party does not show up at their appointed time, the decision will be found in your favor.

Once you have a court ordered judgment that is found to your favor, then the real drama begins. Every day thousands of judgments are rendered, however the court does not enforce the collections of these judgments. The court has no authority to collect an award and leaves that matter entirely up to the plaintiff. Many have the misguided notion that the court will collect money for them if the win their case, but that is simply not true.

Resorting to an attorney for collecting a can be cost prohibitive since attorneys often charge a large retainer and many consider the hourly fee structure outrageous. They feel that the lawyers literally have a license to steal.

If payment is not forthcoming, there are other options available. One can take matters into their own hand, purchase an authoritative and professional debt judgment collection manual and follow through in the process of getting their money back. The methods are easy enough to follow and not complicated. This is not rocket science. No higher math skills are needed.

One can purchase a judgment recovery course for under $50 in order to implement all what it takes to get your judgment satisfied. It is a learn-as-you- go worthwhile skill that can even turn into a part-time business that you can work from the comfort of your home. Many people have been awarded judgment by the court and do not know how to collect them.

If you decide to enter into the business aspect of judgment processing, the plaintiff who won the appeal will assign their rights, title and accrued interest over to you. Judgments are public record and you'll have no problem getting leads. With about 100 letters of solicitation one can expect about 30 or 35 judgments to work on. What is nice about this business is that there is no confrontation and no need to talk to anyone. It's all investigative skills and paperwork.

The other cost effective avenue for judgment enforcement is to resort to a judgment recovery specialist. They will generally collect the money due to you and split the proceeds 50 50. For larger claims in the $20,000 and upward amounts, the fees can be as low as 35 percent

For a more hands off approach and paperwork non-involvement, hiring a professional is the pragmatic choice that many make. After all, half a loaf is better than no loaf. A survey of small claims processing businesses indicate that they win 50 to 60 percent of their cases.

The judgment recovery business also will go after and reclaim interest and expenses associated with collecting the debt. About a 10 percent interest is the average interest in the U.S. that accrues to unpaid judgments each day they are outstanding.

The recovery specialist will investigate and locate where the debtors assets are, his employer and any attachable property and file the legal documents to freeze those assets or arrange to garnish their wages in order to legally satisfy the debt. They can seize personal property or assets, file a lien against real property or an income execution as the situation demands.

When assets are seized, an enforcement officer will take charge and be armed with a Transcript of Judgment and an Information Subpoena that details and identifies the assets. The enforcement officer can then seize the assets and sell them at an execution sale thereby applying the proceeds of the sale to satisfy the judgment.

Beware of the statue of limitations for your state. If the applicable statute of limitations expires prior to you filing your judgment claim or to you having resolved your dispute, one is barred forever from pursuing that awarded claim.

When the debtor pays off the judgment, the creditor will prepare and sign a Satisfaction of Judgment for the benefit of the debtor. This way any lien of judgment can be removed by the clerk and the county record book kept accurate. Judgment recovery is a source every plaintiff with an outstanding judgment should get familiar with.

Author Bio: George Evergeht is a published author and writes for a variety of internet sites, magazines and newscasts as well as for Judgment Enforcement

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What Is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?

In times past, debt collectors used just about any tactics that they deemed necessary in order to collect a debt. Some of the worst offenders used extortion, threats that they couldn't back up, or even lies to get consumers to pay up. But all that changed when Congress enacted the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The law regulates just how collection agencies and their debt collectors are all allowed to interact with consumers, and more importantly, outlines rules that they must follow when attempting to collect a debt.

The Fair Debt Collection Act has drastically changed the lives of consumers, and given them a level playing field when dealing with debt collectors. For instance, if a collection agency crosses the line and uses illegal tactics when trying to collect a debt from you, you can contact an FDCPA attorney. If they advise you that you have a strong enough case, you can take them to court and sue them for damages. And if the judge sides with you, they'll even have to pay your court costs and attorney fees.

Every consumer who is receiving calls or correspondence from a debt collector should arm themselves with the facts, and get to know the provisions outlined in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Here are just a few ways the Act protects you from out-of-control debt collectors.

* A debt collector must identify themselves as such when they call you, and cannot pretend to be law enforcement, an attorney if he's not one, an official of the court, or anyone else other than a debt collector.

* Collection agencies cannot expect you to pay a debt that you're not even sure is yours, and the burden of proof is on them. If you dispute the debt, they must provide proof that the debt is yours. In addition, they must tell you the name of the original creditor, the amount of the original debt, as well as disclose any fees that they've tacked on.

* The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act makes it illegal for debt collector to harass you excessively calling your home, or calling your office at all if you've told them that you're not allowed to receive calls there. You have the right to contact an FDCPA attorney if the calls persist.

* You have the right to be spoken to in a respectful manner, and the Act prohibits bill collectors from demeaning, insulting, threatening or belittling you-and that's true even if you legitimately owe the debt.

* If you don't want the collection agency to contact you at all, you can send them a cease and desist letter, and they must stop all communications. That doesn't mean that they have to stop their attempts to collect the debt, but it affords you the peace of not having your phone constantly ringing or collection letters continually arriving at your home.

An FDCPA attorney can help you if you think that a bill collector has infringed upon your rights. Don't be a victim to rouge debt collectors. Instead, fight back with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Sergei Lemberg, Esq. is the Principal of Lemberg & Associates, a law firm practicing fair debt collection law, lemon law, and other consumer law.

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