What Are My Debt Rights?

When a person falls into debt, creditors have a right to try to collect money that is owed to them. However, consumers have rights that need to be legally respected when it comes to trying to collect on a debt. Debt collectors cannot use illegal means or harassment techniques to try to get money from the debtor.

Business

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act protects consumer debt, but it does not offer protection to business debt. A business debt is a debt incurred as the result of a business expense. This means if you use a personal credit card to buy a new computer for the business and fail to pay back the debt, it is considered a business debt.

Phone Calls

There are protections in place regarding phone calls from debt collectors. If you inform them you cannot take phone calls while at work, they cannot call you at work. If they need to reach you, they have to call you at home or they can send you correspondence at your place of work. If they send correspondence, it has to be marked confidential and it cannot reveal the purpose of the material inside.

Confidentiality

A collection agency cannot reveal to anyone why they are trying to reach you without your permission. If the agency can't locate you, they can try to reach you through a relative, but they cannot state the reasons they're looking for you.

Validation

One of your rights is to have the debt validated. After receiving notice of the debt, you'll have 30 days to have the collection agency send a letter of validation to you. In order to get the letter of validation, you'll need to send a formal request. Make sure that you keep a copy of any correspondence sent to the agency.

Identity Theft

If you're receiving calls from a collection agency and the debt is the product of identity theft, you need to send evidence of the crime to the agency. Usually, a copy of the police report or affidavit is required. In addition, you'll need to have creditors provide a statement that the debt is not yours. At that point, the collection agency has to stop calling you about the debt and will also have to give you any information relating to the accounts, including applications and financial statements.