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Debt collection does not entitle debt collectors to break the law

Just because you owe money and are in debt collection, doesn’t give debt collectors the right to break the law. To give you a better understanding of your legal rights, iDebtHelp has compiled a four-part series of frequently asked questions concerning your legal rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. In this section, find what a debt collector can and can’t do in pursuing you:

Fair debt collection practices prohibit certain illegal and harassing tricks by debt collectors

6) What types of debt collection practices are prohibited? 

Harassment. Debt collectors may not harass, oppress or abuse anyone. For example, debt collectors may not: 

• Use threats of violence or harm against the person, property or reputation; 
• Publish a list of consumers who refuse to pay their debts (except to a credit bureau); 
• se obscene or profane language; 
• Repeatedly use the telephone to annoy someone; 
• Telephone someone without identifying themselves; *
• Advertise your debt. False Statements. Debt collectors may not use any false statements when collecting a debt. For example, debt collectors may not: 
• Falsely imply that they are attorneys or government representatives; 
• Falsely imply that you have committed a crime; 
• Falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit bureau; 
• Misrepresent the amount of your debt; 
• Misrepresent the involvement of an attorney in collecting a debt; 
• Indicate that papers being sent to you are legal forms when they are not; 
• Indicate that papers being sent to you are not legal forms when they are. 

Debt collectors also may not state that: 

• You will be arrested if you do not pay your debt; 
• They will seize, garnish, attach or sell your property or wages unless the collection agency or creditor intends to do so, and it is legal to do so; 
• Actions, such as a lawsuit, will be taken against you, which legally may not be taken, or which they do not intend to take. Debt collectors may not: 
• Give false credit information about you to anyone; 
• Send you anything that looks like an official document from a court or government agency which it is not; 
• Use a false name. Unfair practices. Debt collectors may not engage in unfair practices when they try to collect a debt. 

For example, debt collectors may not: 

• Collect any amount greater than your debt, unless allowed by law; 
• Deposit a post-dated check prematurely;
• Make you accept collect calls or pay for telegrams; 
• Take or threaten to take your property unless this can be done legally; 
• Contact you by postcard. 

MORE DEBT COLLECTION QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS WITH DEBT COLLECTORS, SEE PART 4...

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