California law protects people from abusive debt collectors

California has a comprehensive law that protects people from abusive debt collectors; the California Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is the state equivalent of the federal Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. The CFDCPA offers more consumer protections than the federal law; California residents are protected by both. The FDCPA lays out how and when debt collectors can communicate with people, and what behavior they must align with. The law applies only to agencies collecting debts on someone else’s behalf. In California, the law goes a little further—it sets limits on debt collectors and protects people from other entities, besides collection agencies. This law is also called the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (RFDCPA). California’s law applies to companies beyond collection agencies, including anyone who collects consumer debts in the regular course of business; companies who make forms and tools for debt collection; original creditors. Attorneys and their staff who collect debts are also under certain rules, but these stem from another part of California law. Unlike federal law, the original creditors must also comply with the law. Currently, California is not licensing any more debt collection agencies, which is also good news for anyone struggling with bills. 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. 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. 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.