You have legal rights, even if you have fallen into debt, and you are having trouble paying it back. Debt collectors may have a right to demand repayment from you, but they are limited in how they can do it. Federal and state laws prescribe what a debt collector can do when you owe them money and how they can deal with you. The law gives you the ability to put a stop to wrongful debt collector conduct by taking your own legal action to enforce the law.
Before you can do anything to stop a debt collector from breaking the law, you need to be aware of your legal rights. Part of the battle is understanding that you do not have to be afraid of a debt collector, no matter how much they try to harass or threaten you. There is nothing in the law that says that you must simply deal with it when a debt collector violates your rights.
The first step to holding a debt collector accountable for their illegal actions is contacting an attorney. When you speak with a FDCPA attorney, you will come to understand how they may be breaking the law and what you can do to counter it. Eventually, you can file a lawsuit against the debt collector, seeking damages for the harm they caused you. The law gives you the ability to turn the tables on a debt collector who is violating it. You need an experienced debt collection attorney to both put a stop to the wrongful conduct and seek compensation on your behalf.
What Is the FDCPA and Who Does it Apply To?
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is the federal law which governs what a collector may due to seek repayment from you. Although the debt collector is allowed to contact you to discuss your debt, they must observe the restrictions contained in the law, or they can be civilly liable in a lawsuit.
The FDCPA applies to debt collectors. The law defines the term “debt collector” as “any person who regularly collects, or attempts to collect, consumer debts for another person or institution or uses some name other than its own when collecting its own consumer debts.” The law may not apply to the original creditor from whom you borrowed money, but it does apply to the person who is trying to collect the debt on behalf of themselves or the creditor. Here, the debt collector becomes the creditor because they will be the ones who now own the right to be repaid by you.
Why Debt Collectors May Try to Violate the Law
The creditor will not be able to keep your unpaid debt on their books for an unlimited amount of time. Accounting rules will require them to write the debt off at a certain point in time. When that happens, the creditor does not want to receive anything for the debt that they are owed. They will try to monetize the debt to the fullest extent possible by selling it to a debt collector. Your debt is likely being sold in a batch with that of many other people. The debt collector will buy a large amount of outstanding debts, and the amount that they pay the creditor depends on what they think the chances of collection are. When you pay back the money, it will be to the collector because they are now the one who owns the right of repayment of the debt.
In some cases, the debt collector has paid pennies on the dollar for your debt. If they can persuade or pressure you to pay back some or all of it, the debt collector can make a large financial windfall. Some of this will be profit and the rest may be used to buy more debt to collect.
What Are the Limits in the FDCPA?
Federal law prescribes strict limits on what a debt collector can do in the performance of their duties. Over three decades ago, Congress recognized that debt collectors were committing a number of abuses that were having adverse effects on the people from whom they were trying to collect money. Families were being destroyed, and mental health was negatively impacted by some of the outrageous tactics that debt collectors were employing to pressure debtors. As a result, Congress passed the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
To be clear, the FDCPA still allows debt collectors to do their job, and it does not give you a free pass as a debtor. The debt collector is allowed to make legitimate efforts to contact you to discuss your debt and try to get you to pay. They certainly have the legal right to file a lawsuit in court and obtain a judgment against you. Debt collectors may do that as a last resort because they want to convince you to pay without them having to file a lawsuit.
As a result, the debt collector may engage in various high-pressure and illegal tactics to scare or browbeat you into paying. You may not even know that you can negotiate with a debt collector to pay them less than the full amount of the debt. All you may know is that you are being harassed by a debt collector who may be claiming to have certain powers, and you just want to make the phone calls and communications stop.
How Debt Collectors May Violate the Law
The FDCPA outlaws some of the most outrageous tactics that a debt collector may use to harass or intimidate you. Some of the things that are prohibited under the FDCPA include:
- Failure to identify as a debt collector
- Misrepresenting their status, leading you to believe that you are speaking with someone else, such as a lawyer
- Convincing you that the debt collector has the power to open up a criminal case against you or send you to jail
- Calling you repeatedly to discuss your debt or trying to contact you outside the hours of 8 AM to 9 PM
- Using profanity or being abusive in their communications with you
- Trying to call or contact you when you have told them to stop or calling you outside the time or method that you have prescribed
- Using other types of misrepresentation in trying to collect your debt
You Can Put a Stop to Illegal Conduct
If you have been contacted by a debt collector, you can tell you to stop. You can tell them to stop calling you altogether or direct them that they can only call you at certain times. You can direct the debt collector to no longer call you when you are at work, especially because receiving these calls on the job can embarrass you or even place your employment at risk. When you give any instruction to the debt collector, make sure to put it in writing, so you have a record in case you need it.
If the debt collector is breaking the law, you can be firm yet polite. The worst thing that you can do is to argue with them because you can be putting your own legal case at risk. Make sure that you document all of the times and ways that the debt collector has broken the law because you may need it in a legal case. Depending on the state that you live in, you may or may not be able to record the phone calls. Make absolutely sure that recordings without consent are allowed in your state because you can get in trouble.
How to Complain About Illegal Debt Collection Practices
If the debt collector is breaking the law, you can file a complaint with a government agency for them to take action. You can alert the following:
- The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
- The Federal Trade Commission
- A state agency that regulates debt collection
- The attorney general in your state
The fact that a government agency may take action can partially bring you justice, but it may not result in financial compensation to you. Both federal and state law allow you to be compensated for the harm that you have suffered when a debt collector has broken the law. First, you must file a lawsuit against the debt collector to be in a position to receive payment.
How a Lawsuit Under the FDCPA Works
The FDCPA is a strict liability statute. You do not need to prove that the debt collector knew about the law or had an intent to break it. Compliance with the law is the debt collector’s issue, and it is for them to worry about. All you need to prove is that the debt collector did something to break the law for you to be in a position to receive payment.
The first thing that you should do when you think a debt collector is doing something wrong is to contact a debt collection lawyer. An attorney will explain your rights and let you know whether what the debt collector is doing is illegal or not. They can also give you advice on how to deal with the debt collector in the short term with an eye toward helping you build a possible lawsuit.
You Can File an Individual or Class Action Lawsuit
Your debt collection attorney can help you decide whether you want to file a lawsuit of your own or join a class action class. They can even file a class action lawsuit for you, which other victims may join. If a debt collector has harassed you or otherwise broken the law, chances are they have subjected many other people to substantially the same conduct. Whether you choose to proceed with others or on your own depends on a number of factors. Your debt collection lawyer will give you advice about the most effective way for you to receive compensation.
If you are successful in a debt collection lawsuit, you may be entitled to the following damages:
- Statutory damages of up to $1,000 as a one-time payment (you do not get this payment for each individual violation, but you would get it as a matter of course if you win or settle your case)
- Emotional distress for the mental health effects of the debt collector’s wrongful actions
- Your financial losses from any illegal conduct
- Attorney’s fees (you will be able to keep all of the damages that you receive because the debt collector will need to pay for your lawyer)
You cannot receive punitive damages in an FDCPA lawsuit. If you filed a lawsuit under state law, you can receive these damages, depending on the law in your jurisdiction.
How a Debt Collection Lawyer Could Help You
You need a debt collection attorney to file the lawsuit on your behalf. They may negotiate a settlement for you that can maximize the amount of financial compensation you will receive. The debt collector may not try to fight you in court because the facts in these cases are often egregious. However, that does not mean they will not resist settling your case for as long as they are allowed. A debt collection attorney can put legal pressure on the debt collector to make them realhat they will have no choice but to pay you damages. They may not want to take the risk of facing the court.
You do not have to pay your debt collection attorney anything out of your pocket to get them working for you. They are only paid if you win your case. Even then, the debt collection lawyer is not paid from the proceeds of your settlement because the law provides that the defendant pays attorney’s fees if you win your case. If you do not win your case, you do not have to pay anything to your debt collection lawyer, meaning that you have nothing to lose by getting the legal help you need in your case.
Don't let a debt collector's illegal actions intimidate you. Reach out to a debt collection lawyer today and take control of your situation.