About Fair Debt Collection Act Tips
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What is the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?
More about fair debt collection act: This is a federal law (aka. P.L. 95-109) Congress passed in 1996 to regulate collection agencies and help eliminate abusive debt collection practices that contributed to loss of jobs and invasion of privacy. If a collection agency violates any of the provisions of the law in attempting to collect a debt form a consumer, the consumer may have civil remedies available to them, including punitive damages. You may find the entire Fair Debt Collection Act on the FTC website, http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm. Created to amend the Consumer Credit Protection Act to prohibit abusive practices by debt collectors.
Debt Collection Agency Practices
A debt collection agency representative shall not use profane, obscene, vulgar, or willfully abusive language in communicating with the consumer or any member of their family. If a debt collector breaks this fair debt collections rule, the consumer has a right to record all conversations and let the debt collector know that conversation is being recorded. Without the recording or some evidence of the language used, it is difficult to support the claim against the collectors.
Some factors of the Fair Debt Collection Act include that a debt collection agency representative must not communicate or threaten to communicate to anyone credit information about the consumer which he knows or should know is false. If the consumer is disputing the debt, any communication regarding the debt must also include the fact that the consumer is disputing it. If the debt collector talks to or otherwise communicates with anyone about the consumer's credit, he cannot be law give any information which he knows or should know is incorrect.
Other fair debt collection laws include that a debt collection agency must not publish or post or threaten the consumer that he will publish or post individual names or any list of names of consumers, commonly know as a "deadbeat list," for the purpose of enforcing or attempting to enforce debt collection of the consumer's debt. If a debt collector threatens to place a consumer's name on a "deadbeat list" or in any manner make the debt public information, the consumer has the right to ask that the debt collector notify the consumer in writing.
Fair Debt Collection Laws
About fair debt collection act:
AMOUNT OF DAMAGES
Except as otherwise provided, a debt collector who fails to comply with the provisions of the FDCPA with respect to any person is liable to such person as amouont equal to the sum of:
-any actual damages sustained as a result of the failure;
-such additional damages that the court may allow, but not exceeding $1,000;
-in the event of a class action, not to exceed $500,000 or 1% of the net worth of the debt collector;
-costs of the legal action, together with reasonable attorney's fees allowed by the court.
In determining the amount of damages, the court will consider the frequency and persistence of noncompliance. The action may be brought in any United States District Court without regard to the amount in controversy, or in any other court of competent jurisdiction within one year from the date the violation occurred.
ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT
All of the functions and powers of the Federal Trade Commission are available to enforce compliance with the Fair Debt Collection Act.
RELATION TO STATE LAWS
The FDCPA does not affect or except any person from complying with the fair debt collection laws of any state with respect to debt collection practices except to the extent that these laws are inconsistent with any provisions of the FDCPA, and then only to the extent of the inconsistency. A state law is not inconsistent with the Act if it allows greater consumer protection.
National Debt Collection Laws
A collection agency representative must not communicate with other people (except a lawyer or a consumer reporting agency) about a consumer's account without the consumer's prior consent except to the extent reasonably necessary to enforce a court order. It would be wise to practice these fair debt collections when dealing with a debtor, such as that a debt collector is prohibited from violating a consumer's privacy and therefore a debt collector cannot discuss a consumer's debt with anyone other than the consumer or someone authorized by the consumer (also known as a debtor).
Debt Collection Laws
A collection agency representative must not communicate with the consumer at any unusual time or place or at a time or place which the collector should know would be inconvenient to the consumer. Unless the collector has knowledge of circumstances to the contrary, he should assume that the most convenient time for contacting the consumer is between the hours of 8 am and 9 pm. If the collector calls the consumer before 8am or after 9pm, the debt collector is violating the Fair Debt Collection Act.
A debt collector should not contact the consumer at their place of employment if he knows or has reason to know that the consumer's employer prohibits such calls, according to the fair debt collection laws.
As a matter of fair debt collection practices, a debt collection agency representative must not use any written communication which appears to be a legal document or which gives the appearance of being authorized, issued or approved by a government, governmental agency, or attorney at law, when it is not-and must not misrepresent that documents are not legal or don't require a response from the consumer when in fact they do. An agency is prohibited from using any form of communication that may appear as though it came from an attorney's office, a governmental agency, or the police. This includes any document that looks like a court order, judgment, or a subpoena.
According to the Fair Debt Collection Act, a debt collection agency representative should not communicate with the consumer under the guise of any attorney by using the stationery of an attorney or forms or instruments which only attorneys are authorized to prepare. A debt collector cannot send a debt collection letter from a "legal department" when no such department exists.
Debt Collection Agency Practices
A collection agency representative must not willfully communicate with the consumer or any member of the family so frequently as could reasonably be expected to harass the consumer or their family, or willfully engage in other conduct which can reasonably be expected to annoy, abuse, or harass the consumer or any member of their family. A debt collector cannot repeatedly call a consumer on the telephone. If the consumer gets continuous calls, the consumer has a right to keep track and write down the dates and times for each call. To stop the continous phone calls, a consumer may write and send a letter to the agency, certified mail, return receipt requested, notifying the agency to stop contacting the consumer. Once the letter is received by the agency, a debt collection agency collector is prohibited from contacting the consumer again except to notify the consumer that either contact will stop or that the debt collection agency is pursuing a specific remedy.
A collection agency representative should not orally communicate with a consumer in such a manner as to give the false impression or appearance that the agency is - or is associated with - an attorney. If the debt collector calls or even implies that he is affiliated with an attorney, the consumer has a right to ask the collector to send him/her a letter on the attorney's stationery according to fair debt collection practices.
Some factors of the Fair Debt Collection Act include that a debt collection agency representative must not communicate or threaten to communicate to anyone credit information about the consumer which he knows or should know is false. If the consumer is disputing the debt, any communication regarding the debt must also include the fact that the consumer is disputing it. If the debt collector talks to or otherwise communicates with anyone about the consumer's credit, he cannot be law give any information which he knows or should know is incorrect.
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