The Rudnitsky Law Firm is pleased to announce that Taras Rudnitsky was recently honored by the Legal Advocacy Center of Central Florida (LACCF) for his contributions to protecting the rights of Florida consumers.  The Certificate of Appreciation was presented to Taras on December 21, 2010 “in recognition of your time and dedication in pursuing justice for all by providing free legal assistance” to clients of the Legal Advocacy Center of Central Florida (LACCF).  Taras’s primary contributions focused on representing consumers sued in credit card lawsuits and defending various other debt collection lawsuits, and in helping develop the consumer protection expertise of other attorneys of LACCF.

This continues Taras Rudnitsky’s contributions to the community.  He is passionate about seeking justice for consumers, particularly those who have been victimized by corporations, banks, insurance companies and debt collectors.  Taras’s contributions to his community have also previously been recognized by the Florida Supreme Court and the Seminole County Bar Association Legal Aid Society.

Sometimes it seems that there is no limit to the type of abuse and harassment used by some debt collectors.  The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act provides specific examples of conduct that is prohibited by covered debt collectors.

First, the debt collector cannot use violence or criminal means to harm you physically or your reputation or your property.  Moreover, they cannot even threaten such violence or criminal action.

Second, a debt collector cannot use obscene or profane language to try to collect your debt.  In fact, a debt collector is prohibited from using any language whose natural consequence is to abuse the person hearing or reading the communication.

Third, a debt collector cannot publish a list of consumers who allegedly refuse to pay debts.  Similarly, a debt collector cannot advertise the sale of any debt in order to coerce you to pay the debt.  However, they can still report this information to a credit reporting agency (for example, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) and certain other entities.

Fourth, a debt collector cannot call you repeatedly or continuously with the intent to annoy, abuse or harass you or any other person.  A debt collector also cannot make such calls without disclosing their identity.

The FDCPA provides that consumers may recover their actual damages.  In addition, a consumer may also receive $1000, even if they didn’t suffer any actual damages.  What’s more, experienced Florida FDCPA lawyers will generally take such cases on contingency.  This means that you should not have to pay for attorney fees; instead, any such attorney fees are paid by the debt collector who violated the law.

Remember, to win under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you must be able to prove they violated the FDCPA with evidence admissible in Court.  We recommend that you keep a paper and pen near your telephone if you are getting such phone calls or, worse yet, personal visits.  Write down the date and time for each contact, the debt collectors name and company, who they contacted, and what was said.  Of course, if you receive any letters, bills or other correspondence from the debt collector, save all of them.  If you have caller ID on your phone, write down their phone number and date/time of their call; if you can, take a picture of the caller ID display.  If you have a case against a debt collector, you must then act promptly.  If you don’t file your case before the statute of limitations expires, you will have lost your right to sue the debt collector for their abuse and harassment.

If you believe that a debt collector is abusing or harassing you, we would be happy to assist you, generally at no charge to you, if you are located in Seminole County (Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Geneva, Heathrow, Lake Mary, Longwood, Oviedo, Sanford, Winter Springs, etc.), Orange County (Apopka, Fern Park, Maitland, Orlando, Pine Hills, Winter Park and nearby areas), Volusia County (Daytona Beach, DeBary, Deland, Deltona, Edgewater, New Smyrna, Orange City, Port Orange, South Daytona and others), Lake County (Eustis, Mount Dora, Mount Plymouth, Sorrento and Tavares) and Brevard County (Cocoa, Melbourne, Mims, Palm Bay, Rockledge, Titusville, Viera, etc.).  You can click here to contact us over the internet, or call us on our toll-free number, 1-888-834-5297.

Despite many promises by the credit card companies that they are willing to work with people in difficult financial circumstances, this is not always the case.  Many consumers have reported a variety of abusive debt collection practices used by the credit card companies and other creditors trying to get their money.  Some of the debt collectors engage in various abusive debt collection tactics, including:

• Making threats, including threats of arrest or jail
• Impersonating police officers or other law enforcement personnel
• Demanding payment for amounts that are not due
• Trying to collect a debt that is too old, and which is no longer legally enforceable because the statute of limitations has expired
• Trying to add surcharges that may not be allowed, including certain interest, penalties, attorney fees or costs of court
• Calling too early in the morning or too late at night
• Improperly labeling correspondence demanding payment or listing “past due” amounts, called “dunning letters”
• Refusing to stop contacting you after you tell them to stop
• Other abusive conduct and harassment

There are important laws, including the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), that regulate how and when debt collectors can contact consumers.  It does not matter whether you owe the debt, because debt collectors still have to follow this law and other similar state laws.

As a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) lawyer, I know there are many steps that you can take to assert your rights under this law and other debt collection laws.  Some of those steps need to be taken promptly (with a 30 day deadline), or you may lose important rights.  Contact us now to learn about your rights if you’ve been sued on a debt or are being harassed by debt collectors.