When you have past-due debts, one of your biggest fears might be that your boss or family might learn about it. While many people fall into this situation for various reasons, others can look negatively on failing to repay debts properly.
Debt collectors know exactly what you are afraid of, and they often do whatever they can to play on your fears so you will pay them. The debt collector cannot legally make any phone calls to people other than you and your spouse. If they do so, you may have a cause of action against them under federal or state law.
Contact a consumer protection attorney today if you are experiencing aggressive debt collection practices. Your lawyer can review the facts of your case and determine the most effective way to fight back. When a debt collector violates the law, they can become liable to you for damages.
It does not cost you anything to schedule a free initial consultation with a FDCPA lawyer, and you may not even have to pay them at all if and when you win your case.
Why a Debt Collector May Call Someone Else About Your Debt
Your reputation is one of your biggest fears when you owe money and debt collectors are pursuing you. There is a negative stigma attached to having debt that you are having trouble paying off and owing money in general. You may feel emotional distress and embarrassment because you are in a position where you are struggling financially, no matter how you got into the position in the first place. The last thing you need is for a debt collector to do anything that might inflame the situation and push you over the edge.
Unfortunately, debt collectors have a powerful financial motivation to play around the edges of the law and break the rules. They are powered by their own financial motivations. They can reap windfall profits when you pay them back all the money you owe in full. The debt collector has bought your debt from your original creditor, who wrote off the debt and sold it for pennies on the dollar. Debt collectors act in opportunistic ways because of the large potential profit involved. Unfortunately, opportunistic can sometimes mean illegal.
Debt collectors often bank on the fact that you do not know your legal rights. They may think they can get away with breaking the law here and there, knowing they may not be caught. The individual debt collector might receive more compensation if they persuade you to pay the debt, so they are willing to push legal limits. Either way, debt collectors may blatantly ignore important boundaries and restrictions.
Debt Can Cause You Emotional Distress, and Debt Collectors Know It
The feeling of being in debt alone can cause you serious emotional distress. You may have had some bad luck or made some decisions you now regret, which put you in this situation. Sometimes, debt piles up due to circumstances beyond your control. For example, many people are in debt because they were unable to afford necessary medical treatment, and the debt may stem from a bill from a hospital or doctor.
The debt collector knows how you are feeling because they speak with individual debtors every single day. They know your psychological situation and your fears, and they will do whatever is in their power to exploit them. Hence, the debt collector may try to use shame and embarrassment to coerce you into paying them.
Debt collectors know you may lose standing in your family when they learn you cannot pay back your debts. They may even leverage the fact that your family members do not know you are in financial distress. They certainly understand that you may fear losing your job or your reputation at work when they report you owe past-due debts to your employer. Your employer may take a negative view of your responsibility, and they can sideline you on the job, not trusting you to perform various tasks. They may even bank on the fact that your supervisor may pressure you to address your own financial situation and pay the debt collector.
How Federal Law Protects You from Abusive Debt Collection Practices
Thankfully, you have protections under federal and state law. There is a tough federal law called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act on the books. In 1977, Congress took tough action because of the countless stories of debt collector abuse that were tearing apart families and causing severe distress to people who owed money. Although they did not make debt collection illegal in general (they still serve an important role in the economy), they placed sharp limits on what debt collectors may do. They gave debtors the ability to put some teeth into the statute.
Numerous restrictions in the FDCPA address potentially abusive debt collection practices. Of course, a debt collector is prohibited from repeatedly calling you or trying to berate and threaten you into paying your debt. They are not allowed to make any misrepresentations, including the potential penalties you may face, or by claiming to be an attorney who can take action. Once you tell the debt collector to stop contacting you, they must heed your wishes, although they can still take action to collect your debt.
Of importance here is that the debt collector is not allowed to contact your family or friends. Specifically, one of the main provisions under the FDCPA is that the debt collector cannot reveal the existence of your debt to a third party. If the debt collector does contact someone else who knows you, the only thing they can do is learn how to contact you. They are not allowed to discuss the substance of the matter or talk about your debt.
The Restrictions Go a Step Further Than Just Calling Your Family or Boss
Not only can a debt collector not contact your boss or family members, but they are also not allowed to try to make any contact with you in a forum where third parties can learn about the existence of your debt. For example, the FDCPA prohibits a debt collector from trying to contact you via a postcard because it is an open communication. Similarly, the debt collector cannot publicly publish a list of debtors, nor may they publicly post on your social media account (although they are allowed to contact you through your direct messages on social media).
Exceptions to Prohibitions on Contacting Third Parties
There are only two potential exceptions to this rule. A debt collector is allowed to contact your spouse to discuss the debt. Your spouse and you are considered the same legal entity under the law. If the debt collector has revealed the existence of your debt to your spouse, it is not legally impermissible, especially because the debt financially impacts your spouse. They may even assume half of your debt in the event of a divorce in community property states.
Then, if you tell the debt collector you are represented by an attorney, they can reach out to your lawyer. Since an attorney is your agent, the debt collector can contact them, but only if you tell them you have a lawyer. Then, the debt collector can no longer contact you, as they must only go through your lawyer. This can provide some serious peace of mind.
What Should I Do if the Debt Collector Calls My Family or Boss?
There are two things you should do if you learn the debt collector has called your employer or family members, both to put a stop to the situation and to put you in a better position to file a lawsuit if necessary. The first thing is to tell the debt collector to stop this conduct. Of course, you can tell them verbally, but you may not have proof you made this request. Telling them to stop is simply to get the situation under control. The mere fact they made the phone call in the first place may open them up to liability under the law. Make sure to write a letter to the debt collector and send it by certified mail so you have proof of the letter.
Then, you should retain any documentation of these phone calls. Your family member and employer may have phone records or screenshots showing a debt collector contacted them. Make sure to get whatever documentation you can to prove the debt collector made these phone calls and share them with a consumer debt protection attorney.
You can also file a complaint with a government agency so the regulators may take action. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau works to safeguard your rights and takes action against abusive debt collection practices. You can file a complaint online, and the CFPB may even take enforcement action against the debt collector. However, this complaint should not necessarily be in lieu of filing a lawsuit against the debt collector. If the government takes some type of enforcement action, you may not necessarily get the money. Everything depends on the facts and circumstances of your case.
Get Legal Help from a Consumer Debt Protection Lawyer
You may think the debt collector has done something wrong, but you are not entirely sure what. You may have done some brief legal research online to understand that calling your family and boss breaks the law, but you may have no idea what you can do about it. Either way, it is difficult to act on your own to take legal action without the help of a consumer protection lawyer.
You can take back some degree of control by contacting a consumer debt protection lawyer. While you cannot make your debt disappear, you can turn the tables on the debt collector by filing a lawsuit against them. Your attorney can increase pressure on the debt collector through the courts and help right the wrong you were subjected to.
A consumer protection attorney can give you overall advice about your situation. There may be things you can do to make your debt situation easier. Be careful about paying companies who claim to be debt settlement or credit repair services an exorbitant amount of money. They may charge you for functions you may do yourself through other avenues at little to no cost.
Filing Lawsuits Under the FDCPA
Federal law allows you to act as your own private Attorney General to enforce your legal rights when the debt collector has violated them. The law gives you a private right of action, which means you do not have to wait for the government to take action. You can sue the debt collector directly, either individually or as part of a class action lawsuit. Since you have likely suffered your own unique personal damages, you will generally file an individual lawsuit against the debt collector.
You can win your FDCPA lawsuit if you prove the debt collector broke the law. The FDCPA does not require you to demonstrate the violation was a knowing one. It does not matter if the debt collector knew their actions were illegal. In that sense, the FDCPA is a strict liability statute.
Even if you think your case is easily proven, you still need a consumer debt protection lawyer to fight for you. It is one thing to get compensation for your damages. It is entirely different to get every dollar you deserve.
If you win your case, the debt collector will have to pay you statutory damages of up to $1,000 for their illegal conduct. They also must pay you for the actual damages you have incurred from their conduct, such as lost income if your employment suffered because they called your boss.
A consumer protection attorney is your ally in an FDCPA lawsuit. If debt collectors are engaging in abusive practices, never hesitate to seek a free consultation with a legal professional today. Doing so not only gives you peace of mind but might result in financial recovery for the harm you endured.