NO.  The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) contains important restrictions on how and when a debt collector can contact you:

• They cannot contact you at any time or place that they know or should know is inconvenient for you.  Unless they are told otherwise, they can assume that your convenient times are only between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m.  If these or any other times are inconvenient, let them know!
• They generally cannot contact you at all if they know you are represented by a lawyer and they have your lawyer’s contact information.
• They cannot contact you at your place of employment / job location if they know or should know that your employer prohibits you from receiving such communications there.

Click on the titles to the following additional articles for more information on getting the debt collectors to stop calling:

Debt Collectors Won’t Stop Calling – What Should I Do?

Debt Collectors Are Contacting My Family And Friends – Can I Get Them To Stop?

In most cases, YES.  The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) strictly limits how a debt collector can deal not only with you, but with your family, friends, neighbors and others.

The only persons a debt collector can communicate with about your debt are you, your lawyer, a credit reporting agency, the creditor, or their lawyers.  They can also contact others if they are trying to locate you, but they cannot tell those people that you owe a debt or send them any communications that indicate they are a debt collector.  They generally cannot communicate with anyone else about your debt unless you expressly give them permission, a court allows them to, or they are seeking to collect on a judgment they have obtained against you in court.

Also, they cannot even communicate with you once you tell them to stop – click here for more information on telling them to stop.  Also, once you tell them that you are represented by a lawyer regarding that debt and give them your lawyer’s contact information, they generally cannot communicate directly with you anymore, but can only work through your attorney.  This is one very effective way to stop further communications from a debt collector.

Rule # 1:  Tell them to stop calling you, and put it in writing.  This is often called a “cease and desist” letter.  We recommend that you send them a letter using either delivery confirmation or certified mail, return receipt requested.  That way, you have proof that you sent them your letter telling them to stop calling.

If you tell a debt collector in writing that you want them to stop communicating with you about a debt, or that you refuse to pay the debt, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) generally requires them to stop communicating with you regarding that debt.  The only permissible communications after that is to notify you that they are stopping further efforts to collect the debt or to notify you that they will take certain specific actions in response to your letter.  They also cannot communicate with your spouse or parents (if you are a minor), or with your guardian, executor or administrator.

Rule # 2:  If the debt collector fails or refuses to stop, gather the evidence and have it reviewed by an experienced FDCPA lawyer.  Keep a pencil and paper by your phone.  When the debt collector calls, write down the date and time of their call.  Write down their names and the companies they work for.  Write down who they spoke with in your house, and what they said.  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 receive anything in writing from the debt collector (letters, bills, past due notices, etc.), save them all.

Remember, the FDCPA has a statute of limitations; if you don’t file your FDCPA lawsuit before the statute of limitations expires, you generally lose your right to bring that lawsuit at all.  So, you must act promptly if you think you may have a case against a debt collector.  Please feel free to contact us for a free consultation, and we will be happy to explain your legal rights.

The whole purpose of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is to stop abusive practices in the debt collection industry.  When Congress first passed the FDCPA law, it clearly expressed its findings on why the law was needed:

“There is abundant evidence of the use of abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices by many debt collectors.  Abusive debt collection practices contribute to the number of personal bankruptcies, to marital instability, to the loss of jobs, and to invasions of individual privacy.”

Because existing laws and procedures were not adequate to protect consumers, and because debt collectors can effectively collect debts without being abusive or harassing, Congress passed the FDCPA in 1968.

It is not an excuse under the FDCPA that the consumer actually owed the debt.  In fact, most of the FDCPA simply deals with the way in which debts may or may not be collected.  Its whole purpose is to eliminate abusive debt collection practices by debt collectors.

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.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA for short, is a federal law that applies in all states.  It provides certain rights to consumers by restricting the time, place and methods that debt collectors can use in trying to collect on debts.  As part of this, it is intended to prevent abusive debt collection tactics.

Some people think that the FDCPA applies to all debt collectors.  Although certain provisions apply generally, many of the protections under the FDCPA apply only to certain people and companies.  For example, it applies to consumer debt (where the debt arises primarily for personal, family or household purposes), rather than commercial debt.

It obviously covers debt collection agencies.  However, some people don’t realize that it also covers lawyers that regularly collect debts.  Many of the lawyers that we see in Central Florida (including Seminole County, Orange County, Brevard County, Volusia County and Lake County) do indeed “regularly collect debts”, and are therefore bound by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.  Some of those lawyers have filed thousands of debt collection lawsuits, and many derive most of their income from collecting debts.

The FDCPA specifically exempts certain categories of people and companies from many of its requirements.  Examples of those to whom the FDCPA does not typically apply are original creditors suing in their own name, corporate affiliates, government officers and process servers.  This does NOT mean there are no legal requirements for those people; it’s just that those legal requirements arise from laws other than the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.