Consumer Law

How to Stop Harassing Debt Collection Calls

By Robert Duff

Are you being harassed by debt collection calls?  I speak with a lot of Indiana consumers, and harassing debt collection calls are one of the things I hear about over and over again.  What many people don’t know is that it is relatively easy to make these calls stop.  You just have to know what to do.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) provides boundaries for debt collectors’ telephone communications when attempting to collect a debt.  They can’t call before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.  They can’t call the consumer at a time or place known to be inconvenient to the consumer (this could include work).  They can’t call the consumer at work if they know the consumer’s employer prohibits it.  They can’t call a third party in connection with the collection of a consumer’s debt except to obtain location information about the consumer (and even then the debt collector cannot volunteer that they are a debt collector, cannot state that the consumer owes a debt and cannot call the third party more than once).  Debt collectors also can’t call repeatedly with the intent to annoy, abuse or harass.

The FDCPA also provides that a consumer can terminate (virtually) all communication from a debt collector by notifying the debt collector in writing that the consumer wishes the debt collector to cease further communication.  This written notification should be made by certified mail because it is only effective upon receipt, and you want to be able to prove it was received.  Any additional communications from a debt collector after receipt of such notice violate the FDCPA.  The debt collector’s only two options at that point are to sue you or leave you alone.

The post How to Stop Harassing Debt Collection Calls appeared first on Indiana Consumer Lawyer Blog.

Full post as published by Indiana Consumer Lawyer Blog on March 11, 2017 (boomark / email).