Debt Consolidation: Know your Rights
You Should Never be Treated Unfairly, Even if you Can’t Meet your Payments and have to Eventually Resort to Debt Consolidation or Credit Counseling
Even if you are swimming in debt, it does not mean that you should be subjected to harassing treatment by debt collectors. According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you should be treated with respect. Therefore, you should not be subjected to unfair treatment of any kind just because you are unable to currently meet your payments and have to resort to debt consolidation or credit counseling.
The Ways Collectors Can Contact You
According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, collectors are permitted to communicate you as follows:
–Debt collectors can contact or call all you during regular working hours. If you don’t want them to contact you at work, then you should put a request in writing asking that they do not want them to phone you at your place of employment. Make sure you send the correspondence certified via snail mail, return receipt requested.
–Debt collectors can call or contact your family or neighbors in order to try to communicate with you.
–Debt collectors are allowed to call you at home, unless, again, you send them a written request via certified snail mail (return receipt requested) that they refrain from the practice.
What Debt Collectors Cannot Legally Do
Debt collectors, according to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, cannot practice any of the following behaviors or activities.
–Contact you without initially telling you who they are and the reason for the call.
–Talk to you by using threatening or obscene words.
–Falsifying information by saying that you are guilty of a crime or by threatening that you will be incarcerated if you do not pay a balance owed.
Other Unfair Practices
Unfair activities also can include:
–Forcing you to accept telegrams or collect calls
–Making a deposit of a check that has been post-dated before the indicated date.
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