If you have ever been in a situation where you have been
contacted by a debt collection agency to collect an outstanding debt, you
know that it can be frightening, frustrating and humiliating. You may be new
to the debt collection situation, or it may have happened to you before. At
any rate, it is something that is not pleasant to go through. Whether it is
for several debts, or one unpaid bill, you should know that you as a
consumer have rights and that they are protected under the Fair Debt
Collection Practices Act. Businesses also have rights under the Act which
you should be aware of.
Determine who is calling you. If you are being called
directly by the business or organization that is issuing the debt, the
protections of the FDCPA do not apply because they operate under different
guidelines. But a third party debt collection agency does have to follow
these regulations.
You do have the right to limit when and where the debt
collection agency contacts you on the telephone. When they call, just tell
them that it is an inconvenient time or place. You can list your work place
or friend’s or relative’s homes as places that you cannot be contacted at.
You can say that dinnertime is a bad time to call. But, no matter who tells
you differently you cannot tell the debt collection agency that no time or
place is convenient.
Within the first 30 days after your notification of the debt
you have a couple of other options that you can take. You can ask for the
debt collection agency to validate the debt. They cannot contact you again
until they have a validation from the debt issuer. The validation must
include an itemized debt description and amount, the name of the debtor and
a statement that the debt has not been paid. You should send a written
request for validation through certified mail to the collection agency. You
can also refuse or deny the debt.
One more tool that you can use, if you so choose is to ask
the collection agency to cease and desist from contacting you by phone. This
will not cause the debt to go away or stop the progression of the
collection, but you will not receive phone calls any more. However, you can
still be sued in this case. Know your rights and use them as you need to.