Your Rights When Dealing with a Bully Creditor

Strategies for Working with Aggressive Creditors

When you are having a difficult time making ends meet, the stress and anxiety you face can make your life a continual struggle. At times like these, there’s nothing worse than an aggressive creditor or collection agency, someone calling you at all hours of the day or night, threatening you with legal action, or even calling family or neighbors and telling them about your personal debts. You don’t have to be a victim of bullying by bill collectors. You have rights.

Personal Debt

If the debt you owe is a personal debt, you have a wide range of rights under a federal law, known as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (the FDCPA). This law restricts the hours during which a creditor or collection agency may call. It also requires that debt collectors stop communicating with you if you provide written notice that you want no more contact. It further forbids communication with any third party (other than your spouse or attorney), except to obtain location information.

If you have a creditor who is harassing you, take the following steps:

• Keep a record of all calls—Ask for the name of the debt collector, as well as the company they represent. Get a phone number, if possible.
• Get legal protection—Once you are represented by counsel, you can simply tell all debt collectors to have any further communications with your lawyer.
• If debt collectors continue to harass you by phone, record the conversation (make sure you advise them that they are being recorded)

Business Debt

The FDCPA does not apply to business obligations. If you are being hounded because of a business debt, your best course of action is to retain legal counsel, and to advise any debt collector that they must communicate only with your attorney. If they disregard your request, you should log all calls, and record conversations, if possible.

Contact Heath, TX Bankruptcy Attorney Carrie Weir

I offer a free initial consultation to all potential bankruptcy clients. Contact my office by e-mail or call me at 972-772-3083 for a private meeting. With offices in Rockwall, Texas, I represent clients in Heath, Greenville, Lavon, Wylie, Mesquite and Rowlett.