Summary of The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act from The Federal Trade Commission
About Debt Collection
In 2006, the federal government amended the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) after finding that many debt collectors used abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection tactics. If you owe money through a credit card or a personal or home loan for example, you are considered a “debtor.” The entity owed the money is called the “creditor.” If you fall behind in repaying your creditors, you may be contacted by a “debt collector,” or someone who regularly collects debts owed to others. This includes attorneys who collect debts for creditors.
The FDCPA covers personal, family, and household debts, including credit cards, car loans and medical bills.
Debt collectors are prohibited from certain methods of debt collection, according to both the FDCPA and California law. These laws do not, however, erase any legitimate debt you actually owe.
What debts are covered?
Personal, family, and household debts are covered under the Act. This includes money owed for the purchase of an automobile, for medical care or for credit cards.
Prohibited actions by debt collectors
A Debt collector cannot:
contact you at work if the collector knows or should know that your employer does not allow you from receiving such communication at work
contact you at unusual times or places, such as before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., unless you agree
contact you directly if you are represented by an attorney
in general, talk to anyone else about your debt unless you gave them permission to do so. There are exceptions – for example, the debt collector can talk to its own attorney, or your attorney if you have one, about your debt, and the debt collector can also notify a consumer reporting agency about the debt if permitted by law.
Specifically, they are prohibited from harassment and abuse, making false or misleading representations, and unfair practices.
Asking a debt collector to stop contacting you
You can send a written letter to a debt collector asking that they stop contacting you and upon the debt collector’s receipt of your letter, it must immediately cease all contacts with you. After that, the debt collector is permitted to contact you only to let you know there will be no further contact, or to notify you that it or the creditor intends to take some specific action. Please note, however, that sending such a letter to a collector does not make the debt go away if you actually owe it! You are still responsible for the underlying debt – only now the debt collector is prohibited from contacting you about it anymore.
Information the debt collector must tell you about the debt
The collector must send you a written notice within five days of first contacting you. The notice states the amount of money owed; the name of the creditor owed, and what action you should take if you believe you do not owe the money.
How to report a debt collector’s unfair practices, harassment, or false/misleading conduct
Report any problems you have with a debt collector to the California Attorney General's office and the Federal Trade Commission. As always, you should contact an attorney in order to preserve your legal rights. |
