If you have unpaid debts, then you are probably being contacted by debt collectors who might be using threatening tactics to get you to pay, however, there are things debt collectors cannot do.
Debt collectors like to give the impression that they can do whatever they want to you, but that is NOT true.
There are many things debt collectors cannot do.
There is a law called the Fair Debt Collections Practice Act (FDCP) which greatly limits what debt collectors cannot do or say.
In fact, there are so many things debt collectors cannot do that they often make mistakes.
Remember:
- If the debt collector makes a mistake, then they owe you $1,000
- You don’t have to pay any attorney’s fees to get this $1,000, we will get it for you for free
- Even if you don’t have a recording of them, a good lawyer may be able to get the recording from the debt collector
The following lists some of the many things debt collectors cannot do
COMMON FDCPA VIOLATIONS BY DEBT COLLECTORS
The following lists some of the many things debt collectors cannot do.
Contacting you after you ask them to stop in writing
Other than to tell you that:
1. The collector will stop attempting to collect the debt, or
2. The collector is going to sue, foreclose, or take other legal action
Contacting you
1. At an odd or inconvenient time or place
2. At work, if you tell them not to
3. After you’ve already told them your lawyer’s name and number
Talking to anyone besides you about the debt
Except:
1. Your spouse
2. Your lawyer
3. The credit bureaus
4. Anyone else you give them permission to talk to
Not telling you, within five days of first contacting you
1. What you owe and who you owe it to
2. That the debt is presumed valid unless disputed within 30 days, that the collector will validate the debt if requested to within 30 days, and that the collector will provide the original creditor’s name and address if requested within 30 days
Any “harassment, oppression, or abuse”
Including:
1. Contacting you without identifying themselves
2. Trying to annoy you by calling repeatedly
3. Threatening to harm you, others, or your property
4. Swearing or screaming at you
5. Publishing your name in a list of debtors
6. Advertising the sale of the debt in an attempt to coerce payment
Any “false, deceptive, or misleading” collection tactics
Including:
1. Lying about a debt’s current amount, type, or legal status
2. Lying about who they are (e.g. being a lawyer, being affiliated with the government, etc.)
3. Lying about what will happen if you don’t pay
4. Telling you that you have committed a crime when you haven’t
5. Threatening any illegal action
6. Not explicitly stating that they’re trying to collect a debt
7. Lying about whether or not a document is part of a lawsuit
Any “unfair or unconscionable” activity
Including:
1. Trying to collect a debt you don’t owe
2. Taking a check post-dated more than five days or depositing a post-dated check early
3. Threatening to take your property without going to court first
4. Charging you fees for communicating with them
5. Contacting you by postcard or printing on the outside of an envelope that the letter is from a debt collector
What if they violate any of these?
As we mentioned previously, you’re entitled to $1,000, which we will get for you.
Conclusion
If you experience of these things debt collectors cannot do, then please call 612.724.4357 , or visit one of our offices in Minneapolis, St Paul, Blaine, or Brooklyn Park, and we will get them to leave you alone, and we will get $1,000 for you.
What are you waiting for?
