Knowing What Constitutes Collection Harassment

With so many people deeply in debt, it's no surprise that the collection industry is booming. Debt collectors have a reputation for doggedly tracking down people who are behind on their bills, calling them incessantly, sending threatening letters, and sometimes even showing up in person. Many indebted people feel like there's nothing that they can do but, in fact, there are laws that protect borrowers from collection harassment. Agencies will often try to squeeze extra money out of people, but they have to abide by several limitations and knowing what these are will help protect consumers.

First, debt collectors are never permitted to threaten people with violence or use obscene language. In the past, some very aggressive agencies and individuals threatened to hurt people who owed money. Today, the Federal Trade Commission considers that kind of tactic to be a very serious form of illegal collection harassment. Collectors must also respect privacy rights and are not allowed to make the names of indebted people publicly available, the one exception being that they can and do provide information to credit reporting companies.

Second, debt collectors are not allowed to invent fees out of thin air to make extra money. If a customer signs a contract for a product and falls behind on the bills, the company can't charge fees unless they were already spelled out in the contract and the same rule holds for debt collectors; they are not allowed to charge any fees that the customer didn't agree to in the original contract. This is one reason that it's very important to request that debt collectors supply a written account of any money owed.

Third, debt collectors are absolutely prohibited from lying in order to obtain money. In the past, collectors have attempted to intimidate people by falsely accusing them of crimes, claiming to work for a credit reporting company, or saying that they are lawyers or work for the government. A few agencies have gotten in serious trouble for tricking people into signing legal documents. All of these practices fall under illegal collection harassment according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Finally, and fortunately, no matter how much money a person owes, he or she can make debt collectors stop contacting them. In order to do so, a person must contact the debt collector in writing and request that they cease all contact. The best strategy is to write to collectors via certified mail and confirm that they receive the letter. Once the company has received a request to cease and desist, it can only contact a person for two reasons: to tell them that future contact will cease or to inform the person of the creditor's intended action (such as filing a lawsuit).

People who are being contacted by collection companies need to know their rights in order to avoid abusive or financially harmful situations. While this knowledge will not get rid of a debt that is actually owed, it will save people from being taken advantage of, helping their pocketbooks and peace of mind.