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If your debt has been turned over to a 3rd party collection agency, you need to be familiar with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or FDCPA.  The FDCPA governs what collection agencies can do to collect consumer debt and is enforced by the Federal Trademission (FTC), which is the U.S. consumer protection agency.  It prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair or deceptive practices to collect from consumers.

A debt collector is someone who regularly collects debts owed to others.  Debt collectors include collection agencies, lawyers andpanies that buy delinquent debts and attempt to collect them.  This only applies to personal, family and household debts such as mortgage, car loan, credit card, and medical.  The PDCPA does not apply to debts incurred to run a business or topanies that are collecting for themselves, which is usually through an in-house collection department.

Here is a list of what collectors can and cannot do regarding consumer debt:

Debt collectors cannot

• Contact - Debt collectors cannot contact you before 8 AM or after 9 PM YOUR local time.  They cannot contact you at work, if you tell them orally or in writing that you aren’t allowed to accept calls there. They cannot contact anyone else about your debt, except a lawyer that you have designated.  They also can’t make contact by post card.

• Harass – Debt collectors can’t threaten you with violence or harm,  harass you, use obscene language, or repeatedly annoy you over the phone. They cannot publish a list of names that refuse to pay their bills. They can’t threaten to arrest you. They can’t threaten to take legal action against unless they intend to do so.  This is a tough one for them toply with because the act of trying to collect a debt from someone who doesn’t want to pay it is arguably harassment even if the conversation or contact from the collection agent isn’t abusive in any way.

• Make false statements – Debt collectors cannot make false statements of what they intend to do to collect the debt.  They can’t say they work for a law firm, government or credit bureau or use a fakepany name.  They can’t claim documents are legal, if it isn’t true or vice versa.

• Collect More – Collectors can’t collect more than you owe or charge interest unless it is covered by the initial purchase agreement or state law.  They can’t deposit a post dated check early or bill you for their expenses.

Debt collectors can

• Report – Collectors can report your information to the credit reporting agencies.  And no, they don’t need your permission to do so.

• Contact –  They can contact your friends, family and employer to get your address and phone number, but they can’t mention the debt .  The can contact your lawyer regarding your debt, with your permission.

• Take legal action – They can attempt to garnish your wages, seize property or sell it, if the law permits in your state.  And yes, they can sue you.  There are law firms that do nothing but sue to collect debts.

• Collect – They can collect for the creditor that hired them.

You have rights when you are dealing with a collection agency, so keep these in mind. There are rules for them to follow, but this does not get you out of a debt you owe.  The best way to avoid having to deal with collectors is to pay your bills on time.

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