Unfortunately, if you are reading this, you have probably been harassed, bullied, threatened or even worse by a collection agency (or perhaps more than one). Well, I am here to tell you that you don't have to deal with the outrageous and illegal tactics of the collection industry. The average person doesn't know that they do not have to put up with actions of these agencies when in fact you can turn the tables on them!
Generally speaking, the Collections Industry is filled with some of the lowest forms of life in the business world. This is not to say that all collectors operate outside of the law, since there are firms that do their absolute best to operate within the guidelines of the FDCPA; unfortunately these firms are few and far between. Many collection agencies will go far outside of the boundaries that are laid out in the FDCPA because they know that the average consumer has never heard of the FDCPA, much less read it!
In 1978, Congress enacted the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). This legislation is aimed at eliminating the unfair and abusive practices of collection agencies; as well as to provide consumers with an outlet to dispute and determine the validity of the collectors' claims against them. This legislation also created the guidelines in which collection agencies may conduct business, spells out the rights of consumers that are dealing with collection agencies and determines penalties and fines for violations of this act.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, enforces the FDCPA, which prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices to collect from you. Under the FDCPA, a debt collector may be considered any of the following: a debt collector is someone who regularly collects debts owed to others. This includes collection agencies, lawyers who collect debts on a regular basis and companies that buy delinquent debts and then try to collect them.
They will try many different tactics to get you to pay them; they will use insults, fear, intimidation, the threat of wage garnishment, the threat of calling your employer and your family members to let them know that you're a deadbeat, even the threat of physical violence. Some collection agencies have been known to threaten sending the police to arrest you or threatening to take your home away from you! Many will simply wear you down through non stop harassment until you agree to pay them (whether you owe the debt or not), some will use foul language and call you repeatedly at all hours of the day and night. This type of collector can not stoop low enough to make you feel as if you are a deadbeat, which is their primary goal. These "people" are trained to make you feel that you must pay them or face immediate, dire consequences.
Other collectors may take a different approach than the type of collector mentioned above; they will appear to be sympathetic to your situation. This type of collector will make it seem as if they really care about you and your financial issues. They understand where you are coming from because they have their own financial issues. They will claim that they are trying to help you and make this situation better. Long before I knew what the FDCPA was, I personally had one of these collectors that took this route with me and I bought it - hook, line and sinker. He told me that he was on his way to the courthouse to file suit against me, but if I agreed to his terms he could "get the old man to drop the suit", I paid them everything that they wanted, and did so gladly...man was I stupid.
And you know what? Everything that I mentioned in the last two paragraphs is illegal! The guy that sweet talked me into paying so that they wouldn't sue me violated the FDCPA! Hey could legally say that he was going to sue me, but by saying that if I made payment arrangements immediately he could "stop" the filing of a lawsuit is a clear violation. I could have sued his company for violating the FDCPA and could have received $1000 plus attorney's fees! Instead, I gave them what they wanted and had to live with the negative mark on my credit report (a paid collection is just as bad as an unpaid one!).
I can't stress this fact enough - the more you know, the better off you'll be. As a matter of fact, these Junk Debt Buyers generally want to have nothing to do with people that are familiar with their rights. They only want to deal with consumers that have no idea; the people that they can easily scare and bully into paying them. Most collectors will run fast and far away from someone that appears to know the law.
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