The laws that protect consumers who are dealing with collection agencies are:

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Consumer Credit Protection Act
Fair Credit Reporting Act

There can be severe penalties and remedies for violations of these Acts. Know your rights when dealing with the collection agencies. Here is a summary of the laws– the low down, nuts and bolts of what they can and cannot do when attempting to collect a debt.

The exact legal citation that covers the violation is at the end of each topic.

1. Collectors can only call you from 8:00 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time. (15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a)(1) AND you can end the calls immediately by writing them and saying: “Stop calling me at all. Mail me info only.” (15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c)

2. Collectors cannot call repeatedly in one day with the intent to annoy. (a b 15 U.S.C. § 1692d) AND they cannot call you at work if you tell them this is not acceptable and/or prohibited your employer. (15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a)(3)

3. If you are represented by an attorney, they cannot call you period. (15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a)(2)

4. Once you ask (in writing) for validation of a debt, they cannot call you within in the 30-day validation period. ( a b c d 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b)

5. They cannot use misrepresentation or deceit — they cannot say they are an attorney or a law enforcement officer. (^ a b 15 U.S.C. § 1692e)

6. They cannot publish your name on a bad debt list. (15 U.S.C. § 1692(d)

7. The amount you owe has to be accurate and not inflated. (15 U.S.C. § 1692f(1); Hodges v. Sasil Corp., 915 A.2d 1 (N.J. 2007)

8. Those annoying collection agents cannot threaten to have you arrested if they are not going to (a b 15 U.S.C. § 1692e) AND they cannot cuss at you. (a b 15 U.S.C. § 1692d)

9. Collection agencies cannot generally discuss your debt with anyone (except your spouse or lawyer) (15 U.S.C. § 1692c) AND they cannot send you a post card or “embarassing media.” (15 U.S.C. § 1692f(8),15 U.S.C. § 1692f(7)

10. Collection agents cannot put false information on your credit report (15 U.S.C. § 1692e(8)

If you are having annoying collection calls — you may want to use a recording device and tape exactly what the collection agency says to you or the message that they leave on your answering machine. (Note – each state has its own specific laws about tape-recording phone calls, so you may want to let them know you are recording what they say). If you feel that they have violated the above laws, it may serve you well to write a letter to the collection agency, and explain which of the above rules you feel that they have violated (and include the citation). The law does provide for penalties assessed against collection agencies that knowingly violate the above rules.