Consumer Debt Still On The Rise
In the still dragging U.S. economy, consumer debt is on the rise. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a report showing that credit card debt rose significantly in 2012; borrowers carry an average of $4,996 in debt. If you are in debt and are being harassed by debt collectors, remember that you have certain rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).The FDCPA relates to family, personal and household debts (including credit card accounts), medical bills, auto loans and mortgages; business debt is not covered by this law. The FDCPA is a federal law that applies to every state. In other words, everyone is protected by the FDCPA. The FDCPA is essentially a laundry list of what debt collectors can and cannot do while collecting a debt, as well as things debt collectors must do while collecting a debt.For instance, debt collectors are not permitted to call at off-hours (before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m) without your express permission. They can’t call you at work (or discuss your debt with supervisors or coworkers), and especially not if you’ve told them not to you call you there. When dealing with debt collectors, it’s wise to keep a call log, and, if you have the capability to record the calls, even better.If you do engage an attorney, collection agencies must contact your lawyer, not you. If you don’t hire an attorney, debt collectors are allowed to contact other people (coworkers, military supervisors, family members), but only to gather your contact information—they’re not allowed to discuss the debt with these third parties, and they’re not supposed to bother them more than once. Collection agencies are also required under the FDCPA to send a written “validation notice” to you, which explains how much you owe, and to whom; this ought be done within five days after they first contact you. Naming your creditor is an important detail; if they don’t do this, the whole agreement becomes tainted and legally debatable.There are a few other things debt collectors are forbidden to do (but many companies still engage in these awful practices): they can’t threaten you with violence or harm; they can’t continually call to nag you or leave harassing messages; they cannot use obscene or profane language; they are not allowed to threaten you with exposing your personal information (this can only be shown to credit reporting agencies); and they can’t threaten legal action or imprisonment—debtor’s prison was abolished long ago.If you don’t want to the debt collectors to call you constantly, you can demand in writing that they stop contacting you; this buys you some peace of mind, but, most likely, they’ll then inform you that the creditors are going to take specific legal action. Bankruptcy protection is a viable option from here, as is finding qualified legal counsel, to help you through the bankruptcy proceedings, and help bring down the overall amount you owe and your monthly payments. A good attorney will also make sure your rights are respected, under the FDCPA.If a collection agency has harassed you, you may be entitled to money damages up to $1,000.00, based on the FDCPA, which has been around for almost 35 years. Plus, the FDCPA has a fee-shift provision. This means, the collection agency pays your attorney’s fees and costs. Founding attorney, Michael Agruss, has settled over 1,500 debt collection harassment cases. We want to help you, too.
