How to Stop Debt Collectors from Calling: Your Rights & Actions
If debt collectors are calling you, there is a way to quiet the calls. Understanding your consumer rights and how to respond to debt collectors and collection lawsuits on past due credit card and other consumer debt that has been referred to debt collection agencies. Here is information on what debt collectors can and cannot do with regards to your debt and collection.
Debt collectors can:
Stop you from using their services or credit cards.
Contact you to obtain payment.
Report delinquency to the credit bureaus.
Sue you to collect the debt.
Debt collectors cannot:
Communicate with relatives, friends, neighbors, or others about debt without your permission.
Use any identifying marks, symbols, or language on mailing envelopes or postcards to indicate the sender is in the business of collecting debt.
Communicate with you at unusual hours or in inconvenient times or places.
Contact you at work if your employer prohibits personal calls.
Contact you if you are represented by a bankruptcy attorney.
Use obscene words, racial slurs, insults, or threats in communications with you.
Call repeatedly with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass.
Misrepresent or lie about the character, amount, or legal status of a debt.
Falsely state or imply a lawyer is involved.
State or threaten that nonpayment will result in arrest, wage garnishment, or property seizure, unless the action is intended.
Contact you without disclosing that a collector is attempting to collect a debt.
Collect fees or charges the collector is not entitled to collect.
Deposit post-dated checks before their date.
Misrepresent being a government affiliate or agent if they are not.
If a collection agency or debt collector violates your rights, you can sue them. Check out the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) for attorney references.
If you want debt collectors to stop contacting you, simply write them a “cease” letter asking them to stop. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau website has all the info and links to sample letter templates.
If you have any questions or need help getting a handle on your personal finances, consider talking to a fiduciary financial counselor. Feel free to contact us.
