What Can I Do if a Creditor Contacted My Supervisor?

If you fall behind on a debt, your creditor may assign your account to a collection agency. The collection agency may contact you to recover the outstanding debt. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) outlines what tactics debt collectors may and may not employ when contacting consumers. If a debt collection agency has contacted your friends, family members or employer, learn how to exercise your rights under the law.

Communications and Harassment

A debt collector may contact you by telephone, fax, telegram or mail. Debt collectors are prohibited from contacting you via postcard. The FDCPA prohibits debt collectors from contacting you at inconvenient times; they cannot contact you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. Debt collectors cannot call you repeatedly solely for the purpose of harassing you. Under the FDCPA, debt collectors may not contact you at work if they know such communications are prohibited by your employer. If debt collectors contact your employer, they are only allowed to do so for purposes of verifying you work there. The FDCPA prohibits debt collectors from identifying themselves as debt collectors or telling your supervisor you owe the debt.

Unfair Practices

Debt collectors cannot make false statements to your employer or to other individuals about you regarding the debt. They also cannot threaten to have you arrested or jailed, threaten you with physical harm or claim that they will take your home, vehicle or other possessions. Under the FDCPA, debt collectors are barred from using obscene or profane language, providing false or misleading information about the company they work for or collecting interest, fees or other charges that are not authorized as part of the original payment agreement.

Cease and Desist

If a debt collector is contacting you at home or work or has contacted your supervisor directly, you can order the debt collector to stop by sending a cease and desist letter. Under the FDCPA, issuing a cease and desist order legally requires the debt collector to stop contacting you regarding the debt. The Federal Trade Commission advises sending the letter via certified or registered mail. Once you send a cease and desist letter, the debt collector is prohibited from contacting you or your friends, family and employer. At that point, you still owe the debt, but a debt collector may only contact you to notify you that it is terminating collection efforts or seeking a specific remedy against you, such as a civil lawsuit.

Considerations

If a debt collector does not comply with your cease and desist letter, you may take legal action against the debt collector. Under the FDCPA, you have the right to sue a debt collector in state or federal court If you believe your rights were violated. You must file a lawsuit within one year of the date of the alleged violation. If you can prove a violation has occurred, the court can make the debt collector pay any damages you may have suffered, such as lost wages. If you can't prove actual damages, the court may still require the debt collector to pay you up to $1,000.