Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

By Perry Craft | November 10, 2015

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act NashvilleMany people use credit to obtain goods or services – phones, televisions, vehicles, food, gas, meals, and more.  Credit may be arranged by a credit card or a loan from a business, a friend, or a relative.  Creditors, however, expect that they will be repaid.  When debts are not paid timely, lenders send notices to the debtor that his or her payment is not made or too late, they often refer the matter to debt collectors.  Unfortunately, some debt collectors use unfair, unethical, abusive, or deceptive practices to obtain repayment. A federal law, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), classifies certain debt collection practices as unfair, unethical, abusive, or deceptive and therefore illegal.

The FDCPA’s purpose is to ensure that debtors are not mistreated.  Under the FDCPA, debt collectors may not:

  • Use or threaten to use violence or criminal methods to injure a debtor or his or her property or reputation;
  • Threaten or carry out criminal prosecution against the debtor to receive payment;
  • Use documents allegedly authorized by a state or federal court or official when in fact, the documents are not authorized by a state or federal court or official;
  • Impersonate state or federal officials, lawyers, or creditors;
  • Identify themselves as debt collectors on mailing envelopes;
  • Communicate with the debtor via postcard;
  • Place phone calls to the debtor without identifying themselves;
  • Make repeated abusive or harassing phone calls to the debtor;
  • Use profanity in spoken or written communication;
  • Share with unauthorized individuals a list of debtors refusing to pay;
  • Advertise the sale of a debtor’s property in order to force the debtor to pay;
  • Deceive debtors in order to collect a debt;
  • Falsify the amount, nature, or status of a debt;
  •  Tell the debtor that failure to pay will lead to arrest or jail time;
  • Or state that documents used in collecting debt are part of the legal process when in actuality, they are not.

Under the FDCPA, debtors can only telephone debtors at certain times and stop contacting them generally when requested to do in writing.  A debt collector cannot engage in an unfair or deceptive practice toward the debtor.  In addition, debt collectors may not disguise themselves as creditors who are involved in collecting the debtor’s debt when in actuality, the debtor’s creditors are not involved.

This list is not exhaustive.  The FDCPA prohibits debt collectors from engaging in other abusive practices.

If you are or are being abused or threatened by a debt collector, know this: You are not alone. There are legal options and remedies available to you. So, talk to a lawyer; he or she can be a great ally. If you have questions about America’s state and federal debt and related laws, learn your options. For more information and to have questions answered, contact Nashville Attorney Perry A. Craft.

Posted in Legal Matters