Collection Agencies And Conduct

Collection Agencies And Conduct
by Takara Alexis

When people are approached by a collection agency, many of them are automatically nervous. It's common to be nervous, since you literally have an entity reminding you that you have a debt to be paid. While it is legal to have collection agencies approach people in debt, many of the people who become nervous do not understand that there are certain laws that collection agencies must adhere to.

In the US, collection agencies have to abide by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. It was passed in 1978 and used to establish guidelines for fair debt collection practices to be made. Without these laws collection agencies would be able to harass you constantly from sunrise to sunset. So always make sure to know your rights, and what they are allowed and not allowed to do. There are also state laws that may affect collection agencies as well that differ from state, but here are a few from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Phone Contact- It is illegal to contact someone outside of the hours of 8am - 9pm local time. Deceit- It is illegal to misrepresent the debt, or pretend to be someone you are not, in order to intimidate the subject. (Such as pretending to be an attorney).

Abusive Language- Any profane language or abusive language is prohibited during communication related to the debt. Bad Debt List- It is illegal to put the name of the subject on a bad debt list.

Cease Contact- Once the collection agency has received a written notice that the subject wishes to prohibit contact, or refuses to pay the debt, it is illegal for the collection agency to continue contact with that person.

Attorney Contact- If you are represented by an attorney, they must contact the attorney. Persistent Phone Calling- Calling repeatedly calling someone is considered harassment.