What is Debt Collector Harassment?

Any consumer who owes money is protected against many of the intimidating and harassing techniques employed by creditors and collection agencies.

Debtors are protected from harassment by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (the FDCPA). This is a Federal law that applies throughout the United States. The purpose of the FDCPA is to protect the consumer’s privacy and his or her relationships with third parties such as employers, co-workers or even people living in their neighborhood.
Under the FDCPA a debt collector may not communicate with a debtor at an unusual or inconvenient place or time. This means that a debt collector cannot call a debtor late at night and any call between 9 PM and 8 AM is automatically presumed to be inconvenient.

Your workplace may be an inconvenient place, especially if you have a job that should not be interrupted. If you notify the debt collector in writing that your employer prohibits calls at work, the collector cannot call your workplace again. The Client Services Department of Debt Negotiation Services can provide you with the form required to make such a notification.
A debt collector cannot contact other people about you and tell them that you either owe money or that the collector is trying to collect money from you for a debt.

Many States have laws that enlarge the protection of the FDCPA. For example, Florida law prohibits a debt collector from making threats of force, threatening to contact a debtor’s employer unless the debtor gives specific written permission, disclosing to persons outside of the debtor’s family that the debtor is not credit worthy, using vulgar or abusive language, pretending to be an attorney, refusing to adequately identify himself when asked for identification, and making collect calls to the debtor.
If you believe that a debt collector has harassed you and may have violated the FDCPA or the law of your State, you have the right to complain to the Federal Trade Commission and your State’s Attorney General; as well as to bring a lawsuit for damages. The Client Services Department can provide you with a reference to your State law and the addresses of the Federal Trade Commission and your State Attorney General.