Victims of every type of injustice or crime should never be blamed. They have done nothing wrong; rather, the wrongdoer is entirely at fault. The problem is that many consumers with past due debt blame themselves for their plight, including when they are being harassed by nefarious debt collection agencies.
The rules are stringent in the debt collections industry. The federal government, through things like the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and the laws of various states hold debt collectors accountable to a variety of rules and procedures surrounding the legitimate practice of collecting on past due debt.
With that said, many companies still violate these rules by being deceptive, misleading, abusive, and downright harassing. As mentioned above, debtors should not blame themselves when they are being harassed. One’s failure to pay debt does not give a collection agency a license to break the law and abuse the debtor. Sometimes, the consumer has been found to have not owed anything at all, but they are still mistreated.
The best way to make sure that an abusive, misleading, and or harassing collection agency does not continue their practices is to complain to the government, a state Attorney General, the Better Business Bureau, and even to an experienced consumer attorney. Any and all of these parties can hold the errant collection agency accountable. Of course, a civil suit against the collector will certainly make them hesitant to break the law if the court orders compensation to the debtor.
Whichever course the debtor chooses, if not all, the debtor will need proof to back up the harassment claim. Therefore, the debtor should keep all correspondence between him/her and the collection agency. Logs of all phone calls should be maintained. Names of collectors, creditors, and amounts paid and owed should be kept.
A great place to start is with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).The FTC is designed to protect consumers against all sorts of wrongs committed by businesses. This includes debt collection agencies. Not only does the FTC maintain a comprehensive website through which consumer can become educated on their rights, the FTC accepts complaints via their website.
It is called the FTC Complaint Assistant. In a simple six steps, consumers being harassed by collection agencies can submit a complaint that will be investigated. Simply click on the type of entity that is collecting from you; enter details about your plight; enter the company information; then your information and comments; review and submit.
In a matter of minutes, your complaint will be completed. The company can be held accountable for harassment and future consumers can be saved from harassing collections activities.
If you or anyone you know has been subjected to an abusive, deceptive, or unfair debt collection effort by any business or firm, contact the Krohn & Moss, Ltd. Consumer Law Center for a FREE evaluation to learn how you can protect your rights and get your attorneys’ fees paid.
