Are You a Victim of Ruthless Collection Practices?Encounters with a debt collector can be one of the most stressful and degrading experiences a consumer ever experiences.
Obscene language, harassing calls, threats, and embarrassment by collectors contacting employers, family, and neighbors. Debt collection efforts may affect your job, your credit report, and even information in medical files.
Although collection agencies have a job to do, there are limits on how far a debt collector can go. The federal statute known as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (or FDCPA) provides important protection to individuals, and subjects debt collectors and attorneys working in collections to penalties for violations.
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After meeing radio host Jeff Crouere at his monthly politics panel discussion Ringside Policitcs with a Punch, Marc was asked to comment on the debt collection industry in general, and specifically, about the Dateline NBC Special entitled, "Debt in America and its Collectors," which aired Friday March 27, 2009. Jeff wanted to discuss with his listening audience that which they needed to know to protect themselves when dealing with a debt collector. Further, he wanted Marc to distinguish between permissible conduct as contrasted with violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
During this podcast, listen to callers with particular questions concerning instances of collection activity. The discussions range from hospital bills to old cable bills to delinquent federal income taxes. The emerging explosion of credit card and other loan defaults is already increasing debt collection activity. And as the economy worsens, so does debt collection get more agressive.
This is likely the first in a series of podcasts. The show lasted a little under one hour; the file has been broken up into smaller audio files for web-listening convenience.
What Constitutes a Violation of the FDCPA?The most common violations include:
Have Abusive Debt Collectors become the Norm rather than the Exception?It is a matter of public record that the debt collection industry has historically been very abusive to the consumer. Creditors attempting to collect debts such as credit card debt, hospital bills, phone bills, mortgages, and leases violate the FDCPA every day. Unfortunately, they continue because too many people do not know about their rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
In 1977, Congress passed a law called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA"), designed to protect consumers from abusive collectors. Even if you owe a debt or a portion of a debt, that does not give anyone collecting a debt the right to say or do anything beyond what the law allows them to do when collecting a debt.
Lawmakers originally designed the FDCPA to allow consumers to have a chance to help regulate this industry. Because of the sheer volume of high consumer debt, many debt collectors go unpunished and even unnoticed for violating the FDCPA. Their violations often lead to consumers paying debt they may not have had to pay.