We are all
annoyed by calls from debt collector although that is their job but they could
break the law if they cross their line into harassment. You can stop them
before they could break the law and besides they wouldn’t do that either
because in fact they are so scared
of lawsuits. They are so frightened to be shut down that they run in another
direction when they hear or see certain phrases from consumers. There are ways
to stop them from calling and it can be handled in few easy steps. The Fair
Debt Collection Practices Act will be violated if they will call again despite
all the steps were completed. This law outlines debtors’ rights when it comes
to the collection of a debt.
Send a
Letter
Explain your
preference of communicating with them through writing, sent them a “cease and
desist” letter, this is the easiest way to stop collections agencies from
calling. Make sure that your letter is a certified mail so that you have proof
that they have received your latter or else they could deny about receiving
your letter and still call you. They will send you back a letter once they
receive a cease and desist letter. This letter to the debtor outlines further
actions that may be taken. This gives the debtor a choice of which one to take.
In the instance that they didn’t stop calling you, you may start to log the
times they call with dates and times, Hendren
Global Group suggests.
File a
Report
File a
report to FTC if the collection agencies did not stop even though they have
received your cease and desist letter, complete this with supporting details
like the call logs and other documents essential to prove that they are still
calling. Your next action must be letting the collection agency know that a
report has been filed to FTC and if they won’t stop calling further actions
will be taken. If in case this didn’t stop them from calling, you can sue them
for up to $1,000. You can do this only if it can be proven that their calls
resulted in lost wages or medical expenses.
Bankruptcy
If there is
no other option and no other means to get out then your last resort to stop
collections agencies from calling is to file bankruptcy except that this isn’t
recommended. Agencies should stop calling since they are obliged to because
once bankruptcy is filed they have no legal claim on the debt anymore. But
careful, the consequence is it will be on your credit report for at least 7
years, and it will have any blow on your credit. Although that will definitely
stop them from annoying you and your life will get back to normal.
Bottom Line
Collection
agencies do everything when it comes to collecting debts. What you can and
should be is be aware of your legal rights, the more knowledge a debtor has,
the less agencies can harass them.
hendren
global group news blog, Hendren Global
Group: Top Facts
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