The law creates reasonable boundaries that say to collection companies “even if someone owes a debt, you need to treat them with dignity.” They can’t embarrass you by telling others or your employer about their debts, they can’t say nasty things, and they can’t contact people to the point where their heads feel like they are going to explode. When those lines are crossed, a consumer is entitled to a creditor harassment lawyer and compensation, including a statutory penalty, actual damages, legal fees and costs, and in some cases punitive damages.
Let’s be real – sometimes asking nicely doesn’t work. Many of our clients have asked their creditors to respect their boundaries. They’ve told their creditors that they can’t pay, not to call them at work, or not to call them at all, but the creditors persist. When you hire a creditor harassment attorney the Debt Fighters, we don’t ask, we tell.
While the laws that are in place to protect consumers from harassing collection are clear, not all debt collectors actually take the effort to make sure those laws are being followed. If you are dealing with debt collectors harassment, there is a pretty good chance that 10 or 100 or 1,000 other people are dealing with the same problem from the same company. By enforcing your rights, you put creditors on notice that illegal collection will not stand, and deter illegal collection for yourself and others in the future.
We will use legal tools to hold creditors accountable. Under Florida debt collection laws and federal laws, creditors are required to pay penalties and actual damages when they violate consumer rights – even if you owe a balance.
Let me start with the bad news – bankruptcy stays on a credit report for up to 10 years. But keep in mind that a credit report is about a lot more than bankruptcy, and when the bankruptcy process clears your debt, it gives you an opportunity to rebuild instead of being stuck with accounts that have a late balance.
While each credit profile is unique, here is what we generally find:
Ziegler Diamond Law is a consumer protection law firm in Clearwater, Florida, serving consumers throughout the state in protecting their rights. So what are the laws that protect against unlawful collection?
These claims have deadlines. A lawsuit under the FDCPA generally has to be filed within one year of the violation, and an FCCPA claim within two years. Keep call logs, voicemails, screenshots of text messages, and letters, and talk to a debt collection harassment lawyer sooner rather than later.
The attorneys at Ziegler Diamond Law have been safeguarding consumer rights when it comes to debt collection attempts for many years. We understand that while debt collectors can be annoying, sometimes they take it a bit too far and can actually break state and/or federal laws. Here are some things that debt collectors cannot do when seeking payments:
Cannot: Contact your employer or co-workers
Debt collectors are not permitted to enter your workplace or contact an employer regarding payments unless they have a judgment. By doing so, it publicizes your debts and lets others know about your personal finances. While a debt collector may call you directly while at work, they cannot reveal their identity to an employer or coworkers (so if left a message with someone at your office to say “tell Bob to return my call at Collection Inc, they would be violating your rights).
Can: Contact you, but not too much
No-one likes to get a collection call, but no all collection calls violate your rights. A simple call every couple of days without any abusive language may comply with the law. But if the debt collect goes overboard with the calls, they might violate your rights. Here are some specific scenarios that are likely violations of the law:
Cannot: Contact Third Parties About Your Debt
Very similarly to the rules for an employer, a debt collector cannot call friends and family about your debt. They are allowed to call 3rd parties to get your contact information if they don’t already have a way to get a hold of you, but they can’t use that exception to reveal to the third party that you owe a debt.
Can: Collection on a Debt that is Past “Statute of Limitations” (sometimes)
Many people are aware that there is a limited time for a company to collect on a debt. The laws for this are called the Statute of Limitations (“SOL”). SOL controls how much time a company has to file a lawsuit, but once the lawsuit has been filed, the SOL no longer prevents collection. If a lawsuit has not been filed, and the collectors are still trying to recover the balance, that may still be lawful, as long they disclose they cannot sue you on the balance. If such disclosure has not been made, the collection would likely be a violation of consumer protection law.
The FDCPA bans false, deceptive, and misleading practices. Abusive debt collectors cross this line when they:
Under Regulation F, a debt collector is presumed to be harassing you if it calls about a particular debt more than seven times within seven days, or calls again within seven days after actually speaking with you about that debt. Collectors who use text messages or email have to give you a simple way to opt out, and they can’t use your work email if they know it belongs to your employer. Florida’s FCCPA separately bars collection communications between 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. without your permission.
If you send a debt collector written notice that you refuse to pay or want it to stop contacting you, it must stop, except to confirm it is ending collection efforts or to tell you about a specific step such as a lawsuit. Once a collector knows you have an attorney, it generally has to deal with your attorney instead of calling you. Keep a copy of your letter and send it in a way you can prove it arrived.
A collector can’t report a debt to your credit report before it has tried to contact you, and if you dispute the debt, it can’t keep reporting it without marking it as disputed. Reporting a balance it knows is false can also violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
You do not have to prove you lost money to recover. The FDCPA allows statutory damages of up to $1,000 per lawsuit, plus actual damages and attorney fees. The FCCPA allows its own statutory damages of up to $1,000, plus actual damages, attorney fees, and, in the right case, punitive damages. When the same violation hits many consumers, the case may be brought as a class action.
Debt collection harassment often shows up alongside a collection lawsuit. If a debt buyer or collection law firm has sued you in a Florida court, common defenses include lack of standing (the debt buyer can’t prove it owns your account from the original creditor), the statute of limitations, and missing or inaccurate account records. Collection misconduct can sometimes be raised as a counterclaim in the same case. See our guide to being sued by LVNV Funding for how these defenses work in practice.
If the debt itself is the real problem, filing bankruptcy triggers the automatic stay, a court order that immediately stops collection calls, lawsuits, and garnishments. Collectors who ignore the stay can be sanctioned by the bankruptcy court. Our Chapter 7 guide explains how that protection works.
In most instances, we are able to take these cases on a contingency basis, meaning the consumer does not pay anything up front. Under the way the laws are structured, the bad guys pay for our time and out-of-pocket in pursuing the case.
If you are overwhelmed with relentless calls, emails, and letters from a debt collection agency, contact us without hesitation to book an appointment with an attorney. We will do what we can to see that your rights are being protected, and assist in taking legal action if needed. Schedule a no-commitment consultation today to see if your rights have been violated.
Additional Information:
Get Help Now!
If you believe that a debt collector has violated collection laws, call us at (727) 538-4188 or fill out the form to the right. Depending on the facts of your case, we may be able to accept your case with no cost to you unless we recover from the debt collector. Don’t let yourself be victimized. Contact a Clearwater debt collection defense attorney today from Ziegler Diamond Law about Debt Collection Harassment.
Related: Sued By Asset Acceptance LLC? We Can Help
Related: Sued By PYOD, LLC? We Can Help
