Fair Debt Collection Practices Act,
Fair Debt Collection Resources
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act grants consumers rights in the face of potential collection harassment. These rights form a framework of guidelines that regulate the work behavior of debt collectors. However, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act does not affect creditors, only debt collectors. More simply put, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act does not eliminate debt. It simply keeps debt collectors from crossing the line into illegal and unethical behavior.
Such illegal and unethical behavior remains relatively uncommon among debt collectors. Still, the strain of working under tight deadlines and the need to earn as much commissions as possible affects several debt collectors. This is where the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act comes in. The rules and laws the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act has established not only protect the rights and privacy of consumers but also the good name and reputation of debt collectors.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act makes any deceptive or abusive behavior on the part of debt collectors illegal. Additionally, under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a debt collector cannot claim to be a lawyer, a law enforcement officer, or a representative of the government unless he or she actually is one. Similarly, he or she cannot report false information on the debtor's credit report or threaten to do so.
Additionally, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act gives specifics as to the types of contact a debt collector can make with a consumer. A debt collector cannot call a consumer on the phone before 8:00 am or after 9:00 pm. If and when a debt collector has been made aware that a consumer's employer does not permit phone calls. Calls to the consumer's workplace are prohibited. According to the Fair Debt Practices Act, a debt collector may contact a third party regarding the consumer's location information, but he or she cannot discuss details of the consumer's debt with any third party to protect the consumer's privacy. Furthermore, if the debt collector knows how to locate the consumer, then they are prohibited from contacting third parties. If an attorney represents the consumer, then, under the Fair Debt Practices Act, all contact must be made with that attorney and not the consumer.
Further guidelines from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act state that a debt collector cannot threaten or lie or use threat of violence against a consumer. Should a consumer feel harassed by a debt collector, he or she possesses the option of sending a written notice to the debt collector stating that they will not pay the debt or that they wish for communications to cease. The communications must cease, though the debt remains in default. Sometimes, this will trigger the collector to institute a lawsuit against the consumer since they know that other methods of collecting are now unavailable.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act requires certain standards in a debt collector's conduct. There are several things a debt collector must do when communicating with the consumer. A debt collector must identify himself by name and state to the consumer that they are a debt collector in every communication. He must also indicate that the information received goes toward the collection of the debt.
Finally, if the debt collector needs to take legal action in the form of a lawsuit, according to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, he must file it in the proper venue. A proper venue would be where the consumer lives or where he or she signed the contract that led to the debt. The law assumes that since the consumer once signed a contract in the locale or lives in the locale it is convenient for the consumer to defend themself there.