Dealing with debt collection agencies can be stressful and overwhelming. It’s important to remember that you have legal rights as to when and where you receive these calls. Resources like LawHelp.org, an online consumer legal information portal, provide information and self-help resources to help you deal with debt collectors.
Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which covers personal (as opposed to business) debts, debt collectors may not contact you early in the morning or late at night without your permission, and may not contact you at work if they’re told (orally or in writing) that you’re not allowed to get calls there.
LawHelp.org sites in many states contain sample letters you can customize with your personal information and then send to a collection agency to ask them to stop contacting you at your work, as well as a letter you can send requesting proof of the debt, known as a debt verification letter. If you send a debt verification letter within 30 days of receiving a notice from a debt collector, the collector must stop any collection efforts against you until they have verified the debt.
Debt collectors also may not harass or threaten you, and may not give false information. If you think a debt collector has violated the law, you can report them to your state Attorney General’s office or to the Federal Trade Commission.
For more information, visit your state LawHelp site (www.LawHelp.org). Other resources include the Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov) and, in many cases, the state Attorney General’s office (you can find your state through The National Association of Attorneys General at www.naag.org). The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit consumer organization, also has information and sample letters on its website (www.privacyrights.org).
