First Name:

Last Name:

Telephone:

Email:

Address:

City:

State:

Zipcode:

Incident Details:

form base
Home » Consumer Information » Debt Harassment

FDCPA

FDCPA | Attorneys for Orlando, Tampa, Fort Myers, Jacksonville and Miami

The basis behind the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), implemented in September 1977, is that it would help cut down on offensive debt collection techniques by debt collectors. Its goal was also to encourage state governments to monitor debt collectors looking to exploit the privacy of individuals and protect consumers from these malicious attacks. The FDCPA serves as a point of reference for the following procedures:

Acquisition of information

Any debt collector looking to gather information on the whereabouts of a consumer must identify themselves and their motive. If the consumer inquires, the collector must also state what company they are working for. The debt collector cannot imply that the consumer owes any money during the phone call, or it is considered privacy invasion. Once this initial questioning session is complete, the debt collector has no right to contact the consumer again unless the consumer has a lawyer present.

Communication with the consumer

The debt collector has no business attempting to communicate with the consumer at a place or time deemed inconvenient to the consumer. If the debt collector has knowledge that the consumer is represented by an attorney, the collector should not be contacting the consumer directly until it has been determined that the attorney has no intentions of responding.

Consumer disrespect

The debt collector cannot pester, tyrannize, or abuse anyone for the purpose of collecting a debt. Also, by no means can the collector rely on violence or threats to force the consumer to give in.

Misrepresentation

The debt collector cannot claim that the failure to pay off a debt will result in the consumer’s arrest or confiscation of their property unless such action is permissible by law.

Validation

No more than five days after initiating contact with the consumer, the debt collector will send out a written statement highlighting the amount of debt owed, name of the lender, and payment due date.

Civil Liability

Any debt collector who fails to conform to the terms of FDCPA is liable to pay damages to the consumer and could even be responsible for paying their attorney fees.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act offers services for various types of debt collection. Whether they are in-house or a collection agency, debt collectors must realize the seriousness of this statute and remain within its legal limits. The FDCPA has the resources to assist collection agencies with the recovery of funds without crossing the line.