{"id":375,"date":"2018-07-09T20:01:49","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T20:01:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.www.claimsmatch.co\/?p=375"},"modified":"2024-02-14T18:46:19","modified_gmt":"2024-02-14T18:46:19","slug":"debt-collection-harassment-claims-and-fdcpa-lawsuits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.claimsmatch.co\/debt-collection-harassment-claims-and-fdcpa-lawsuits\/","title":{"rendered":"Debt Collection Harassment Claims and FDCPA Lawsuits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Financial hardships happen; and if high unemployment or recession should ever hit our economy (as it has because of Covid-19), most Americans may find themselves <a href=\"https:\/\/cash4homefl.com\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">behind in paying their home mortgages<\/a>, utility bills, credit card debt or student loans.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s during these moments one should expect phone calls from third-party debt collectors, which is a perfectly legal practice; however, the courts and government agencies like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumerfinance.gov\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau<\/a> (CFPB) will not tolerate debt collector harassment, defined as unethical and abusive practices by creditors to collect money from debtors.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Illegal debt collection often causes unwarranted insolvency, marriage dissolution, unemployment, and intrusions on privacy; and while most debt collectors obey the law when trying to collect money, a few engage in illegal bullying and consumer maltreatment.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Debt harassment attorneys at our associated law firms are experts in handling aggressive debt collectors and can help individuals take action to stop the harassment.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><b>Debt Collection Harassment Defined<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Federal and state statutes address debt collection rules and explain when such practice becomes illegal. Generally speaking, third-party collection agencies cannot make repetitious communications to debtors with intent to aggravate, annoy, upset, intimidate or offend them. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Typical patterns of harassing debt collection practices include:&nbsp; <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using profane or indecent language during debt collection calls.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Making public private debt information to others (unless reporting information to credit agencies).<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Interacting with debtors without first establishing the purpose of the call.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Making repetitious communications via telephone, internet or text message that agitates or stalks people owing debts.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Threatening violent or physical harm to a person if they refuse to pay a debt.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adding illegal fees, interest and collection charges to debt balances.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Collecting on debts previously written off for tax purposes.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.www.claimsmatch.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/debt-collector-harassment-1110x740.jpg\" alt=\"debt collector harassing woman\" class=\"wp-image-1185\" title=\"\"><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><br><b>The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Protects Consumers<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><b> <\/b><br><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Congress wrote the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) in 1978 with resolve to protect consumers from debt collector harassment.<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/enforcement\/rules\/rulemaking-regulatory-reform-proceedings\/fair-debt-collection-practices-act-text\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/enforcement\/rules\/rulemaking-regulatory-reform-proceedings\/fair-debt-collection-practices-act-text<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The courts often exploit this legislation when scrutinizing certain debt collector practices; the FDCPA further proscribes third-party debt collectors and collection agencies from participating in any form of nuisance activity.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The FDCPA offers over fifty examples of what constitutes harassment; yet, most courts refer to the following five standards when examining debt collection behavior:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol>\n<li><b>Harassment after Receiving Notice to Desist.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Debt collectors cannot contact consumers who give them written notice to discontinue communications.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><b>Deceitful Statements and Misleading Representations.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Collection agencies must attempt to collect debts in good faith. The law enjoins them from distorting debt balances or misrepresenting themselves as debt attorneys or government tax officials.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><b>Telephone Nuisance.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Debt collectors may only try to collect debts between the hours of 8:00 am and 9:00 pm; collection agencies further may not use robo-calls to collect money and cannot intimidate debtors by making repetitive phone calls.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><b>Improper Credit Agency Reporting<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The FDCPA defines exactly what information debt collectors can reveal to credit agencies. Harassment occurs when collectors over report information or when they unlawfully fail to report debtor disputes.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><b>Collection of Discharged Debts.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Collection agencies may not collect money on debt discharged in bankruptcy or previously settled by third-parties. Harassment may further exist if collectors threaten legal action on time-barred debt previously released by credit agencies (debt over five years old). <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.www.claimsmatch.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/broke-debt-collection-1110x550.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1186\" title=\"\"><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><br><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The law also requires debt collectors to perform particular actions when speaking to debtors. Hence, deviations from following federal rules may further constitute debt collection harassment. &nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol>\n<li><b>Identification<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Collectors must identify themselves at the onset of every contact.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><b>Notification<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Consumers have the right to know the following in advance and before engaging in debt collection negotiations:<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The original creditor\u2019s name and business address.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An advisement that all or any information passed on to debt collectors will be used in present or future efforts to collect the debt.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Notification of right to dispute the obligation directly with the debt collector, In such case, collection agencies must offer consumers a writing of the dispute action within five days and begin a thirty-day waiting period if consumers demand debt verification.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Collection agencies must further disclose any disputed debts to the credit bureau immediately.<\/span><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consumers also have a right to know in which jurisdiction the debt resides, in case they decide to sue after contesting the debt.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><b>Debt Collection Harassment Lawsuits<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Illegal debt collection litigation begins with filing protests with the CFPB and speaking with an expert debt collection attorney at Claim Match&#8217;s <a href=\"\/law-firm-directory\/\">affiliated law firm<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Debtors who successfully sue collectors for harassment may collect actual damages to cover their pecuniary losses provoked by unlawful collection practices (lost wages, damage from unfair credit reporting, emotional distress.).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The FDCPA further authorizes the courts to award nominal statutory damages up to $1,000 when plaintiffs suffer no monetary losses from debt collector harassment.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Financial hardships happen; and if high unemployment or recession should ever hit our economy (as it has because of Covid-19), most Americans may find themselves behind in paying their home mortgages, utility bills, credit card debt or student loans. It\u2019s during these moments one should expect phone calls from third-party debt collectors, which is a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,21,17],"tags":[24,25],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.claimsmatch.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.claimsmatch.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.claimsmatch.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.claimsmatch.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.claimsmatch.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.claimsmatch.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2949,"href":"https:\/\/www.claimsmatch.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375\/revisions\/2949"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.claimsmatch.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.claimsmatch.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.claimsmatch.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.claimsmatch.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}