Debt collection agencies could be annoying. It is important to know your rights as a creditors or lenders under the U.S. Federal Law.
Fully understand your rights under the Federal Law would protect yourself from the debt collectors attack. FDCPA, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, was the Federal law enacted in 1977, protecting consumers from ”abusive collection practices from third-party debt collectors”. Under the Federal Act, there are something the collection agencies could not do or abusively do to you.
First, there are limit on the time when the collectors contact debtors. It is not allowed for collectors to contact debtors before 8 in the morning or 9 in the evening in the local time, depends on the place consumers locate. If you are a debtor in Texas, collectors cannot call you at 8am Eastern Time.
Collectors are not allowed to make calls to debtor’s workplace unless they are granted permission by debtors. If you have told you cannot receive their calls at work, then the collectors must stop calling.
It may not be too appropriate to tell your neighbour that you have some credit card debts. In general situation, collectors are not allowed to communicate with people others than debtors in regard of the debt. So no worries, no disclosure of your debt is allowed.
As a debtor, you enjoy the privilege to ask the collection agencies to stop, in which this demand must be completed in writing.
Last but not the least, of course collectors are not allowed to threaten violence or making calls to you in an abusive manner. And what’s more, it is a must for collectors to disclose who they are.
