Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

• The Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act outlines what your creditors and/or a collection agency can do in an attempt to collect your debt. It also offers you legal ways to stop their attempts to contact you.
  
  According to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a creditor or collector must not harass you in an attempt to collect a debt. As such, creditors and debt collectors are forbidden from calling you late at night or early in the morning, telling other people about you or your debt, or threatening to have you jailed, sue, garnish wages or seize property unless they actually intend to do so. Furthermore, creditors may not call you at work if you ask them not to.
  
  

Dispute the Debt

• Additionally, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act affords you the right to contact your creditors about your debt and/or the collections practices. If you do not owe the debt, you must dispute the debt in writing by sending the creditor a certified letter denying that the debt is yours within 30 days of receiving a written notice of the debt. After you have sent the letter, the creditor or collector cannot contact you. Keep a copy of the letter and your copy of the postal receipt for the certified letter.
  
  

Cease and Desist

• While debt collectors are legally afforded the right to collect a debt, you are within your rights to ask them to stop contacting you. You can ask them to stop contacting you via phone, but it is a good idea to follow your request up with a certified cease-and-desist letter. While the cease-and-desist letter will not make the debt disappear if you owe it, it can either stop the collectors or at least give you ammunition if you need to take legal action for the harassment. Keep a copy of the letter that you sent, along with your postal receipt indicating that the letter was sent certified mail.
  
  

Reporting Abuse

• When collection calls become harassing or abusive, it may be time to take legal action. If a collector has violated any of the restrictions placed upon them by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, contact the Federal Trade Commission or your state's attorney general or other governing body. If you fear for your safety, you may also need to contact local authorities. If a third-party collection agency violates your rights, you can sue for both actual damages and punitive damages, as well as your attorneys' fees and the court costs.