What to Do When Shady Debt Collectors Break the Law to Harass You

Speaking anonymously, a friend of mine went through a horrific ordeal. She was injured by a stingray during a trip to Florida a couple of years ago. She was taken to the emergency room and received $4,000 bill. She didn’t have the money to pay the bill at the time, so she decide to take care of it later.

A year later, she started getting calls from debt collection service. The debt collectors gradually became more aggressive with her. After a month, one of the debt collection callers told her that she could possibly face jail time for failing to pay the bill. My friend was horrified at the prospect of going to jail.

“I didn’t think the agony would ever end. It was at least a dozen times worse than the pain the stingray caused,” she told me.

That is until she spoke with a credit counseling service that advised her that incarceration was not a risk. She was notified that the debt collection service was using illegal threats, which should be reported to the Federal Trade Commission.

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for debt collectors to flaunt the law. Many people don’t understand their rights, so they may fall victim to unscrupulous debt collection companies. Here are some illegal debt collection practices that you may fall victim to.

Debt collectors misrepresenting themselves or your situation

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) requires debt collectors to be entirely transparent with you. They must be honest about the fact that they are with a debt collection service. They cannot impersonate a law-enforcement official, credit counseling company, prosecutor or consumer attorney.

Debt collectors are also forbidden from lying about the severity of your case. It is illegal for them to overstate the amount of your debt or claim that you have committed a crime by failing to pay. Sadly, this is an all too common practice, so you need to be on your guard.

Using coercion tactics

Debt collectors may not threaten violence or criminal charges. It is a serious crime for debt collectors to use such coercive tactics. A few years ago, several thousand debt collectors were arrested for using these illegal debt collection techniques. The debt collectors misrepresented themselves as federal law-enforcement officials and threatened criminal charges against consumers with unpaid debts.

Depending on the nature of your debt and the laws of your jurisdiction, debt collectors may also be prohibited from threatening to seize property or garnish wages. They usually need to have the legal authority to pursue these actions and intend to follow through before they can issue such a threat.

Contacting you while you are represented by an attorney

Daniel Wesley, a nationally renowned debt consolidation expert, advises customers that there are plenty of ways to get debt collectors to stop contacting you. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau clarifies that debt collectors may not contact you if you have hired an attorney to represent your case. However, you must provide your attorney’s information, so they can contact them to resume the discussion.

“If a debt collector knows that an attorney is representing you about the debt, the debt collector generally must stop contacting you, and must contact the attorney instead. This is only true if the debt collector knows, or can easily find out, the name and contact information of your attorney. If an attorney is representing you and a debt collector calls, tell them which attorney is representing you and that the debt collector should contact the attorney, not you.”

Contacting you at unreasonable hours

Debt collectors may not contact you at unusual times of the day or any place where it is inconvenient. Federal law states that they may only call you between 8 AM and 9 PM. They are also prohibited from calling you at work if you have made it clear that you cannot take calls. However, you must be assertive and tell them that not to contact you during working hours. You also need to stipulate when those hours are.

Contacting anybody else about your debt

Debt collectors may not harass anybody else about your debt, unless they are a cosigner that is liable for it. It is highly illegal for them to suggest that anybody else is responsible for your debts. They may not libel you in any way or publish your information online either.