If you owe a significant amount of debt, you might soon begin receiving phone calls from collection agencies hired by your creditors. If you're a resident of New York State, though, you have certain rights under state law when it comes to debt collection agencies. For your own protection, you should familiarize yourself with these rights. Otherwise, you won't know if the debt collection companies contacting you are acting illegally.
Intimidation
New York law prohibits debt collection agencies from harassing, threatening, or lying to debtors in an effort to collect the money that they owe. Collection agency officials are not allowed to swear at debtors or threaten to harm them or their property. They also can't tell debtors that they'll go to prison if they don't pay their debts. Misrepresentation is illegal, too; collection agency callers can't falsely claim that they represent a government agency or are an attorney.
Calls
Debt collectors operating in New York are not allowed to call at any unusual time, which means that they can't call debtors before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. They are also not allowed to call them at their place of employment if your employer prohibits or disapproves of such calls. They can't call debtors, either, if these debtors have hired attorneys to represent them in connection with the money they owe.
Communicating With Others
Debt collectors in New York state are only allowed to speak directly to debtors or the attorneys representing them. They can't call friends, co-workers or family members of the person who owes money. When debt collectors are trying to find debtors, they can talk to acquaintances of the person who owes money. But they can't say why they are looking for the person or that the person owes money.
Privacy Issues
When communicating with debtors through the mail, collection agencies are not allowed to send postcards or any pieces of mail that identify the senders as being debt collectors. This is an effort to protect the privacy of individuals who owe money.
Proper Notice
Within five days of contacting debtors, collection agencies must send individuals who owe money a written notice. This notice must spell out how much money the debtor owes, the name of the creditor to whom the debtor owes this sum and a statement that if the debtor doesn't dispute the debt within 30 days that the collection agency will consider the amount to be valid.
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