Creditors are allowed to call you between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., every single day of the week. This can get really old, really fast, particularly if they keep calling you at work every day. This is sometimes the creditor's goal, used as a way of intimidating you so you will pay your bill. Sometimes, creditors continue to use this technique even if you are working with a debt relief or consolidation company.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was created to keep creditors from harassing their debtors. Creditors are permitted to do certain things under the Act, but they are prohibited from doing certain other things that constitute harassment.
Each day, creditors are may contact you several times, until they speak with you once. After that, they are not permitted to call you again until the following day. These phone calls may only take place between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. Once you have asked a creditor not to contact you at work, the creditor may no longer do so. Should a creditor violate any of these rules, you should write down the following information:
Both you and the creditor know that you owe money to the creditor. However, the creditor may not use any abusive or patronizing language with you, nor may he threaten you with garnishment or criminal action. A creditor also may not threaten to seize your property or garnish your wages if a judgment has not been filed, nor may he threaten physical violence against you. If any of these prohibited actions occur, you must log the same information as mentioned in the above paragraph.
Creditors are not permitted to tell anyone other than the debt or the amount of the debt, how far behind you are on the debt, or any other important information concerning the debt. The only time a creditor may do so is when it has received a judgment and is contacting your employer in order to garnish your wages.
Creditors may not send you documents that seem to be from a court in order to intimidate you, and they may not tell you they are attorneys if they are not. If you receive any such documents, be sure to keep copies.
While creditors may try to use a number of techniques to scare you into paying the money you owe. Remember to stay calm, and especially if you are working with a debt relief company, do not let yourself be bullied by creditors.