Debt Collection: Are You Being Abused?

Just because you're in debt, doesn't mean you have to put up with the abuse of debt collectors. With the passage of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, consumers are protected from debt collector abuse. In the Act, debt collectors are banned from many activities that could be considered harassment or cause the consumer distress. When people try to collect your debt, they may call you or send a letter informing you of their attempts to collect. However, a debt collector cannot threaten you in anyway or abuse you by using foul language. Likewise debt collection agencies cannot send you letters that appear to be officially from a court or other legal entity in hopes of scaring you. Essentially, debt collection agencies cannot make any false implications about you or your credit history to anyone, including the three major credit bureaus. A debt collector can't call you and make false statements about how much money you owe, nor can they lie about who they work for. Under no circumstances can a debt collector try to convince you that you've committed a crime unless you really have. Debt collection agencies also cannot lie and state they will attempt to seize your property when there is no intention of doing so. Also under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, debt collectors cannot compile listings of people who are in debt and post them in any place. The only exception to this rule is of course when creditors must report your credit information, which includes any debt that you may be in, to the credit bureaus. Basically, anything that invades your privacy, acts to harass you or provides false information about you is deemed unacceptable under this debt collection act. By guaranteeing your rights, you can better deal with paying off your debt, rather than living in fear of the annoying phone calls and letters. The amount of stress such calls can impose on a person is just not healthy. Debt collectors should not be allowed to call so extensively unless there is an absolute need to do so. Examples of reasons a debt collector could call you include letting you know your property is being seized, legal action is being taken, or that your debt is cleared. Having to deal with debt collection agencies is no easy matter and can most definitely leave you in fear of the sound of your ringing telephone. But under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the consumer is protected from the hounding calls and threatening letters of debt collectors. What makes the debt collector's tactics all the more annoying is their tendency to lie about the status of your debt. Today, however, if you catch a debt collector lying about you and your credit, you have the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act behind you. Don't let debt collectors scare you. Know your rights.

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