Newsflash: Collections Agents Aren’t Allowed To Abuse You

There’s a certain level of anxiety one has when they pick up the phone and find out that it’s a collections agent on the line. It’s embarrassing enough that you have to deal with a collections agent at all, but if you’ve ever had the horrifying experience of dealing with an unethical agent or an agent who outright abused you via phone, it quickly turns into a living nightmare.

Most people wrongly assume that debt collectors are allowed to be rude, demanding, or even insanely intrusive. The actual truth is that the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act bars debt collectors from behavior that would typically be considered out of line for most other industries, and in many cases, violations victims could actually be entitled to payment for their troubles.

If any of the following happened to you, call us to see if you’re entitled to money.

1)   They verbally abused you or used profanity towards you. By law, they have to remain professional. If they’re threatening you, calling you names, or otherwise being abusive to you, you have a case. Besides, being that mean is just bad business practice.

2)   They called so frequently that it could be considered harassment. Phone calls should be done to annoy you. If you already tried to negotiate something, they should try to lessen the calls. If you feel they did it to harass you, then you may have a case.

3)   They told family members, friends, or any other third party that you had a debt that headed to collections. This is often a breach of privacy, especially if you have told them not to contact others in regards to the debt. It’s considered to be a form of public humiliation.

4)   The collectors also didn’t read your “mini-Miranda.” Did they tell you that you had the right to dispute or verify the debt? No? Well, they were legally supposed to, which means that you deserve a settlement.

5)   They threatened to arrest you, posed as police, or refused to identify themselves. This is obviously unethical, and has to be stopped immediately. If this happened to you, go to court as soon as possible.

6)   You’ve been called at your workplace even though you told them that it’s not allowed. This is considered to be public humiliation.

7)   They’re also not allowed to slap you with large fees, interest, or charges. Enough said?

The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act is there to protect you, and if you’ve dealt with collectors, you most likely have had at least one transgression. If you feel like you’ve been slighted, call us 201-461-0059. You may end up getting money out of it.