When you owe creditors money, you have rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which the Federal Trade Commission enforces. This act protects you if you owe money to family members or other individuals, credit card companies, health care providers and loan companies. The debt collection act, however, does not apply to debt collectors attempting to recover debts related to a business you may own.
Information Gathering and Appropriate Contacts
If a debt collection agency does not know how to get a hold of you, it may contact individuals you know only to learn about your home address, place of work and home phone number. Generally, a debt collector cannot contact a third party more than once, and the collection agency cannot share information with a third party regarding your debts. If you have lawyer assisting you with your debts, the collection agency must contact your legal representative instead of you.
Notices
After contacting you for the first time, the Federal Trade Commission states that a debt collector must mail you a "validation notice" within five days. The notice must state the amount you owe, the creditor's name and what to do if you cannot repay your debt.
Contact Times and Locations
Unless you agree to accept phone calls at irregular hours, the debt collection act prohibits debt collectors from calling you before 8 a.m. or 9 p.m. If you tell a debt collector verbally or in writing to not call you at work because of company policy, the collector must comply.
Prohibited Practices
The act prohibits debt collectors from harassing you, threatening violence or harm, calling you just to be an annoyance, using profanity while speaking with you or publicly publishing your name as a debtor. They also cannot lie in an attempt to collect payment from you, tell you that you are going to be arrested, tell you false information about your credit information or try to charge you additional fees or interest charges other than what you specifically owe.
Suspension of Debt Collector Contacts
You can request in writing that a debt collector stop contacting you. The Federal Trade Commission states that you can do this by writing a letter the collections agency that asks them to stop contacting you. Send the letter via certified mail and request a return receipt so you can verify that the agency received your correspondence. Upon receipt of the letter, the collection agency may only contact you to tell you that they will not contact you anymore or to let you know if they are going to take a specific action against you, like take you to court over the debt you owe.
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