Dealing with debt officers can be intimidating. Their behavior isn’t exactly friendly or civil when they call you to [pay your dues. However, not everything they say or do is okay, and you do not have to deal with their impolite behavior every time.
Sometimes debt officers cross their limits and can potentially harass people in the name of collecting a debt. In such a situation, you must immediately seek help and get legal advice from a debt collection attorney.
As a debt owner, you have certain rights, and your attorney will help you fight the unjust and harassment the debt collector caused you.
Steps you must take if a debt collector crosses their line.
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A “Stop Contact” letter
For all debt owners, there is a law under the FDCPA. Fair Debt Collection Practices Act restricts the debt collection officer from participating in harassment or illegal practices. Although several terms and conditions are involved in the act, debt collectors always break them and ignore them the rest of the time.
As a debt owner, you do not have to know everything about the FDCPA in detail to identify when a debt collector is violating the law. You can immediately take action when you see your debt collector harassing or causing mental abuse.
To begin with, you must send the debt collection agency a Stop Contact letter in which you ask the agency or the collector to stop all the means of contact with you immediately. You either send the letter by mail or using electronic communication.
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Block specific means of communication
If you want the debt collector to stop contacting you a certain way, you can mention them in the letter. However, this is only useful for people who do not want the agency to stop contacting them but want specific means of communication to be restricted.
You can either mention it in a written form or tell them verbally to stop specific ways of communication. The debt collector must follow your instructions as it is your right to demand a particular communication medium under the FDCPA act.
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Ask the collector to authenticate the debt.
The FDCPA requires the debt collection agency to validate your debt in a written format. The validation process must happen in the initial period or at least five days after the first attempt to contact you. While the initial contact can be over a call, the debt collector must provide you with all the details about your debt in an email or letter. The details must include the debt information, what rights are, and how you can challenge your debt or ask them you provide you with more details.
