Los Angeles Creditor Harassment Lawyers
Falling behind on debt typically sets off a blizzard of phone calls and letters from debt collection agencies. Historically, the debt collection industry used bullying tactics to get people to repay their debts, and many people fell ill or felt intense emotional distress at the constant harassment. Helpfully, Congress has pumped the brakes on creditor harassment and outlawed some of the most offensive practices. Please call Wadhwani & Shanfeld today to talk with our Los Angeles creditor harassment lawyer. We can review what steps to take to secure peace of mind.
When Do Creditors Go Too Far?
The U.S. Congress passed the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act to prohibit some of the most abusive practices, so collection agencies must abide by the following:
- No threats of violence—debt collectors are prohibited from threatening you or your family.
- No abusive language—profanity is prohibited!
- No phone calls at inconvenient times—no calls early in the morning or late at night.
- No calls at work.
- No continuous, harassing phone calls—debt collectors cannot call every half hour to harass you.
- No misrepresentations or lies—collection agencies must be honest in all their dealings with you.
- No contact with a third party like your mother or a sibling to talk about your debt.
- No direct contact if you have an attorney—once you hire a lawyer, they need to talk with us.
- No calls after being told to stop—once you tell them to “go away,” they cannot call you again.
- No publication of your debt to third parties—they can’t put details about your debt on the outside of an envelope or use a postcard.
The law also gives consumers certain rights. You can request that the collection agency verify the debt, which means they must prove that it is valid. If they can’t, then they need to stop contacting you and cease all collection efforts. You also must be told you have the right to dispute the debt.
This law only applies to third party collection agencies. It doesn’t apply to attempts by your original creditor to collect. So if you fall behind on a credit card debt, the bank that issued your card might call you. They aren’t restrained by the FDCPA. But after a while, they might sell your debt to a collection agency—and the FDCPA fully applies to these third-party collection agencies.
If a debt collector violates your rights or harasses you, we can notify them to stop. We can also file a lawsuit for statutory damages and other relief, which should stop them cold in their tracks. This is a powerful law to use against abusive, harassing debt collectors.
Get Peace of Mind Today
Our Los Angeles credit harassment lawyer has helped many Angelenos stop harassing phone calls and other abusive practices. We can also help get any lawsuit dismissed if the collection agency cannot validate the debt, which happens surprisingly often. Please call our firm today to speak with our legal team about your case.
