Like all states, Ohio regulates the actions creditors can take to collect a debt. If you default on a debt, you may receive calls or letters from creditors or collection agencies, and they may eventually file lawsuits against you. However, the law prohibits creditors from harassing you.
Your Rights
If a debt collector calls you, he must send you a letter describing the debt within five days of the call. He must allow you 30 days to request verification of the debt. You also have the right to prohibit a debt collector from contacting you again, whether or not you owe the debt. However, if you do owe the debt, prohibiting further contact from the collector won't erase your debt.
Restrictions On Creditors
Ohio prohibits debt collectors from using abusive or obscene language when speaking to you. The law also prohibits them from calling after 9 p.m. or before 8 a.m. If you ask the debt collector to refrain from contacting you during other hours, he must comply with your request. Finally, since Ohio law prohibits the imprisonment of an individual for unpaid debts, debt collectors can't threaten you with jail time.
Permitted Actions
Though debt collectors can't harass you, the law doesn't prohibit them from calling you, sending you letters or filing a lawsuit against you. If a debt collector files a lawsuit against you in Ohio and you don't agree with his claim, you must respond to the complaint within 28 days. If you don't respond, the court may grant the creditor a default judgment. If you do respond, the court schedules a hearing. At the hearing, a judge decides whether to enter a judgment against you for the debt. Creditors can file lawsuits against you for up to 15 years after you default on a debt.
Judgments
If a debt collector obtains a judgment against you for a debt you owe, he can garnish your wages, remove funds from your bank account, put liens on your real estate or seize your personal property. Creditors can garnish up to 25 percent of your wages for debt repayment, and they can remove all funds in excess of $400 from your bank account.
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