Amy just didnвt want to get in trouble at work - it wasnвt that she trying to avoid paying the debt. If the collector was smart they would obey the request, not just because itвs the law, but because they are trying to collect money. If they call Amy at work and cause Amy to lose her job, or lose consideration for promotion, they are hurting their own chances of recovering the debt. Putting Amy out of work isnвt exactly in their best interest. Amy claims Martin and Seibert violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)by communicating with her at her place of employment and by continuing to call her with an intent to annoy and harass her. Amy seeks actual and compensatory damages, statutory damages of $1,000 for each violation of the FDCPA, attorneyвs fees, costs and other relief the court deems just. Regardless of the case outcome, the fact remains that the collection agency will have to spend money to defend themselves - all because an intelligent borrower knows her rights and isnвt afraid to exercise them. Payday lenders will not call you at work once you tell them that it is unacceptable. The case that Amy started is just one example of what can happen when you know your rights and exercise them.
If you need to dispute a debt (or simply find out more about what it is), you should put it in writing and send it via certified mail to the debt collector, the CFPB advises. Sample dispute letters can be found at the CFPB. Consumer advocates say the FDCPA is unclear on how the dispute may be resolved if you supply evidence that the debt is not yours at this stage. But Issa Moe, general counsel for the debt collection industry trade group ACA International, notes that agencies have their own methods to address such situations. Two things will happen after you dispute the debt if it's still unresolved. The debt collector will send you verification of the debt-and it must by law stop efforts to collect the debt until it has done so. But itвs important to understand what вverificationв means-as well as what it doesnвt mean.
Consumers can ask for more information about a debt or dispute debts they believe are in error, but they have only a 30-day window to do this after they receive a written notice from the debt collector. If a consumer doesnвt take this step, the debt collector will assume the debt to be valid, according to the CFPB. Stark said she wasnвt aware of her right to dispute the debt, nor the time limit-and that isnвt uncommon, consumer advocates note. вI think it's fair to say that a lot of people aren't sufficiently aware of their rights,в said Suzanne Martindale, senior policy counsel at Consumer Reports.
вEven a few phone calls a day can really affect people,в Shin says. Even though by law debt collectors must stop calling you if you request it, their debt-collection efforts can still continue, including filing a lawsuit against you. If a debt collector sues you to collect the debt (in small claims court or civil court), donвt ignore it, Martindale says. Contact the courthouse to see if they can refer you to an attorney, or, if your income is low, a legal aid organization, she recommends. вIf you don't answer in time, they will win by defaultв in the courts, she says. вThey can go to the court and try to garnish your wages and freeze your bank account.в. At any point in the above process, if you believe a debt collector isnвt following the rules, is contacting you to the level of harassment, or is contacting you about a debt you donвt owe, there are a few places to lodge a complaint. Chief among them is the CFPB's complaint database, where consumers can submit a complaint. The CFPB says it works with the financial services companies to get a response to consumer complaints. You can also take complaints to your stateвs attorney general, who can enforce fair debt collection practices. You can also sue if you believe a debt collector has violated the FDCPA-for example, if it continues to contact you after you asked it to stop-Martindale notes. вIf you can find a lawyer who thinks your FDCPA rights have been violated, you can take these debt collectors to court,в she says.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act says verification is simply providing the name. Address of the original creditor or the copy of a court judgment saying you owe the debt. Consumer advocates say the definition of verification is too vague. Feeds into the industryвs high complaint rate about erroneous data. Because of this lack of clarity, some consumers may find themselves in a gray area when it comes to convincing a debt collector they donвt owe a debt, consumer advocates say. Some of those tough situations can involve people who are victims of identity theft, especially if they never filed a complaint with their local police force, says Susan Shin, the legal director at the New Economy Project, an economic justice organization in New York City that runs a financial justice hotline for low-income New Yorkers experiencing abusive debt collection and other problems. вIt can be tough to prove a negative,в Shin notes. In other cases, consumers may have already paid the bill but havenвt kept records, especially if the debt occurred years ago.
Source:
- https://nocollectioncalls.com
Tags:
can you sue a debt collector for harassment |
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