Florida State Collection Laws

The stress of being debt is often made worse by the barrage of collection notices in the mailbox as well as constant calls from debt collectors. The Florida Collection Practices Act, also known as the FCCPA, and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, FDCPA, are in place to make sure that the rights of debtors are not violated. These laws govern how the debt collectors can communicate with people from whom they are attempting to collect. However, these rules are not always followed.

Improper Amounts

Once a debt is sold to a collection agency as a bad debt, the collection agency assumes the responsibility of collecting the debt. It is illegal for collection agencies to attempt to collect more than the amount of the actual debt, even if they claim to be owed a service charge or late fees.

Contacting Place of Employment

It is illegal for a debt collector to continue to contact an individual at his place of employment once the collector has been advised that the place of employment either does not allow or disapproves of the debtor receiving these types of calls. Many collection agencies may attempt to use this method of contact to pressure the individual into paying the debt by continuing to make such calls.

Calling Outside of Allowed Times

A collection agency is bound by a time restriction when making collection calls. The calls must be made between 8:00 am and 9:00 pm. Any calls made outside of these times are illegal. Collection calls are also bound by the statutes of the FDCPA to be made at reasonable intervals. Calls that are made on a continuous basis or that are repeated are not legal. The collection agency is also required to avoid calling at times that it has been advised are inconvenient.

Threats

It is illegal for collectors to make calls using language that is obscene, abusive, profane and/or threatening in nature. It is not legal for the collector to make threats to do things that he legally cannot do. These threats include but are not limited to threats of legal action, threats to tell friends, family and neighbors of the debt, and threats to cause the individual to lose his or her job.