What protections does the Fair Debt Collection Practices (FDCPA) offer?
- Debt collectors may not harass or abuse consumers when attempting to collect on a debt. For example, collection agencies cannot make threats or use violence, obscene language, or threaten to ruin someone’s reputation.
- Collection agencies cannot act in an annoying way. For example, collection agencies cannot ring your phone over and over again until you pick it up.
- Debt collectors cannot call someone acting as if they are an attorney unless they really are. By doing so, would be in violation of the FDCPA law because the collection agency is falsely representing who they are. They must accurately identify who they are.
- Collection agencies cannot insinuate that they will be pursuing wage garnishment or taking you to court unless you’re being served with a lawsuit or about to be. Also, debt collection agencies cannot tell a person that they could be imprisoned over a debt.
- After an attorney notifies a creditor that you have legal representation, that creditor cannot call you again. All communication must be directed to your attorney. After enrolling in a debt resolution program at Golden Financial Services creditors get notified that you now have legal representation. At that point, all creditor harassment should stop. And if the harassment continues, let us know so that the legal violations can be used to benefit you. Click here to read more about Debt Resolution.
- Debt collectors cannot charge unfair amounts in fees, including late fees and collection fees, unless these amounts are explicitly stated inside the credit card contract or loan agreement that a person signed. If unauthorized fees are being charged, debt validation programs can dispute the debt and prove it to be legally uncollectible. Debt validation is a consumer’s right to be able to fight a debt under the FDCPA.
- Collection agencies cannot communicate with a consumer about a debt by postcard. Collection agencies also cannot call a consumer at their place of employment after being told one time that they are not allowed to get personal calls at work.
- Consumers can use debt validation to challenge a debt, including the amount owed and requiring the creditor to prove they are legally authorized to be collecting on the debt. To be legally authorized to collect on the debt a creditor needs to produce complete and accurate accounting details, documentation including the original contract signed, and documentation to illustrate the creditor is licensed to collect on a debt in a particular state.
- Consumers can sue a debt collector for $1,000 per violation under the FDCPA or in the case of a class-action lawsuit “not to exceed the lesser of $500,000 or 1 per centum of the net worth of the debt collector”
- The FDCPA is used to negotiate favorable outcomes with debt settlement and with debt resolution programs, in some cases resulting in a debt getting dismissed due to legal violations committed by a creditor. To learn more about credit card relief programs visit this page next.
In addition to the FDCPA, you should also learn about the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
Click Here for a Free PDF Summary of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
Do you owe Above $10,000 in Unsecured Debt? Speak to a debt counselor for a Free Consultation Today at (866) 376-9846.
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Summary Video from GFS
Did you know that as a consumer you have rights regarding debt collection and credit?
The Fair Credit Reporting Act illustrates consumer rights regarding credit, and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act outlines your rights regarding debt collection. Consumers should understand both of these Acts.
Today, we will take a look at your rights as a consumer in regard to debt collection.
From Wikipedia, “The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), is an amendment (codified as 15 U.S.C. § 1692), establishing legal protection from abusive debt collection practices… The statute’s stated purposes are: to eliminate abusive practices in the collection of consumer debts, to promote fair debt collection, and to provide consumers with an avenue for disputing and obtaining validation of debt information in order to ensure the information’s accuracy. The Act creates guidelines under which debt collectors may conduct business, defines rights of consumers involved with debt collectors, and prescribes penalties and remedies for violations of the Act.”
Debt collectors have been known to harass, scare, mislead and abuse consumers, as a tactic to collect money. Third-party debt collectors are regulated, and abusive methods are prohibited. The FDCPA provides consumers with rights that protect them from debt collectors.
Golden Financial services produced an easy-to-understand guide, which a person can skim through and learn the important points in the Act within minutes.
If you desire to learn more details about FDCPA, then we recommend viewing the full copy of the Act on the Federal Trade Commission Website (FTC). We are in no way trying to represent the FTC. Our version is not intended in any way to constitute, override or replace the original versions created by the Federal Trade Commission, and we urge consumers to view the original version as well.
Call 866-376-9846 for further assistance in understanding this Act or if you need assistance with debt.