Just because you’re in debt doesn’t mean you have no rights. The sad truth is many bill collectors routinely break the law, and they get away with it because most people don’t know their rights.
Learn common ways debt collectors break the law and how you can make them pay you. Remember, it’s up to you to know your rights and to call bill collectors out when they’re breaking the law.
- Bill collectors can’t contact you before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. without your permission. The only exception to this is if you actually tell them it’s okay to contact you outside of this window. Otherwise, if you get a phone call or a knock at the door that isn’t during this time period, the bill collector is breaking the law. Let them know that what they’re doing is illegal, and tell them to stop harassing you. More times than not, this will back them off a bit.
- A debt collector can’t call repeatedly. Calling too often is harassment, plain and simple. According to the law, “engaging any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass” is abusive and illegal. Bill collectors are not allowed to engage in any form of harassing behavior, and if they don’t stop, you can make them pay. Your best bet is to find a lawyer with experience in debt collection abuse. Even if you don’t want to sue the bill collector, you can still report their violations to your state’s Attorney General’s office and the FTC.
- Family members and your workplace can’t be asked about the debt. Believe it or not, bill collectors can call family members and your workplace. However, they can only do so to verify your home address, your phone number, and where you work. They cannot ask these third parties anything about your debt, and they usually aren’t allowed to contact these individuals more than once.
- Bill collectors can’t threaten to sue just to get you to pay. Unfortunately, some debt collectors out there are real bullies. They’ll tell you they’re going to take you to court when they have no intention of doing so. They may threaten to garnish your wages, seize your property, or even have you arrested. The truth is, third party collectors are often breaking the law by making such threats. Make no mistake: they can file a lawsuit to collect the debt you owe, but if they don’t intend to take legal action (either because it wouldn’t be worth the court costs, or because they’re prohibited by federal or state laws), they can’t tell you that you’ll be sued.
- Posing as an attorney or other legal figure is not allowed. Bill collectors can’t lie or misrepresent themselves when trying to collect a debt. This means they can’t falsely claim they’re attorneys or government representatives, and they can’t send you letters or other documents printed on stationery that appears to be from a law firm.
Know your rights and make crooked debt collectors pay
Know your rights. They’re all in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (with an easy to follow guide here), plus there may be state debt collection laws as well. Don’t let bill collectors turn your life into a living hell. If they won’t stop harassing you, find a qualified debt settlement lawyer or a credit repair lawyer who will make them pay.
Yes, that’s right, you can actually put money into your pocket by catching debt collectors breaking the law. In fact, some people have even taken this to the extreme by making a living suing debt collectors. For those who treat catching bad debt collectors as a sport, a harassing phone call is music to their ears because it means money in their pockets.
Here’s a video showing how bad debt collectors operate from the inside. They break the law, know they will get sued, but don’t care because they see it as the cost of doing business. The only reason it’s profitable to be a crooked debt collector is that so few people know their rights.
So if you run into debt collectors like these, make them pay and encourage others to do the same.
