Creditor Harassment Attorney

There’s nothing more frustrating and worrying than being harassed by creditors and debt collectors over and over. Unfortunately, creditor harassment is incredibly common, especially because many people don’t fully understand their rights and don’t know who to contact in order to get this behavior to cease.

With the right legal representatives on your side, you can stop creditor harassment and regain control of your finances and bills. Let’s take a closer look.

What is Creditor Harassment? 

Creditor harassment occurs whenever a creditor or debt collector violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or FDCPA. While debt collectors are allowed to contact debtors or money borrowers when needed, they have to do so safely, legally, and fairly.

However, any creditors do not abide by the FDCPA, nor do they always take the necessary steps to make sure that they have the right person. You can be subject to creditor harassment if:

• You are repeatedly harassed for money that you know you don’t owe, as in cases of mistaken identity
• You are harassed for money that you already paid down/back
• You are harassed for money that you don’t know anything about
• And more

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

Under the FDCPA, all American consumers have protections during and after the debt collection process. For example, when a debt collector contacts you, the collector must:

• Identify themselves, as well as explain that they are contacting you for debt collection purposes
• Tell you your rights under the FDCPA
• Give you a written letter explaining your debts and rights within five days of first contacting you

Furthermore, when a debt collector initially contacts you, you have various rights, including:

• The right to request a debt validation letter within 30 days of being contacted
• The right to dispute your debt within 30 days of being contacted. After disputing a debt, you should not be contacted by the debt collector until the collector can provide verification or proof of the debt and its various details

For example, if a debt collector contacts you and immediately demands money, they are in violation of the FDCPA and are technically harassing you. If you request validation of a debt and the creditor decides not to provide you with any details but still contacts you, they are also harassing you.

If the debt collector can prove that the debt is yours, you may be on the hook to pay for it. But if the debt collector can’t prove that the debt is yours, they should cease communication attempts immediately.

How Can Creditors Harass You?

In truth, debt collectors can harass you in many different ways, including:

• Making collection calls either before 8 AM or after 9 PM. Debtors have a right to rest, relax, and sleep without interruption
• Trying to collect on a debt that you don’t owe, either because you never take out the money or because your identity has been confused with that of another person
• Implying that the collector represents the police, the courts, or some other legal entity
• Making threats to you, such as threatening physical violence
• Threatening you with arrest or jail if you don’t pay a debt. Even if you don’t pay a debt, debt collectors cannot threaten you with this under any circumstances
• Asking or demanding that you pay fees or extra interest to the collection company aside from what you originally owed
• Talking to anyone else about your debt without your permission
• Using abusive, foul, or harmful language when they contact you
• Contacting you at work if you have told them that your employer does not want and will not accept debt collection calls
• Not providing you with written debt validation letters within five days of making contact
• Not telling you your debt collection rights under the FDCPA
• Continuing to contact you even after you have given them written notice to stop collecting you. If you tell a debt collector that you don’t want to be contacted by them, they can tell you only one more time (and in writing) what actions they will take or that they will cease efforts to collect the debt
• Leaving answering machine messages with you without telling you that they are trying to collect a debt and without identifying themselves and/or their employing organization
• Threatening you with property seizure or wage garnishment

If you’ve experienced any of these behaviors, it’s a good idea to contact creditor harassment attorneys right away. Creditor harassment attorneys are specialized for cases just like this, and they are the worst enemies of harassing debt collectors around the country.

How Can Attorneys Help?

Creditor harassment attorneys can provide a wide range of assistance to people just like you. Creditor harassment attorneys have the legal expertise and knowledge to help you navigate tricky situations like this, including informing you of your rights immediately.

Creditor harassment attorneys can provide further benefits and help, too.

Provide Sound Legal Counsel

Creditor harassment attorneys can offer sound legal counsel throughout the process from start to finish. For example, if you aren’t sure whether a debt collector has violated the FDCPA, you can ask your attorneys and they will clear up the issue for you immediately.

Furthermore, you may not know what type of letter you need to send a debt collector in order to get them to stop their harassment. Your attorneys can tell you exactly the type of letter you need to send, help you write it, and send it on your behalf.

Help You File Letters or Paperwork

When you need to file a debt validation letter or some other letter, typos, inconsistencies, and other accidentally written misinformation can compromise your efforts. Knowledgeable attorneys know exactly what to say, how to say it, and how to frame your perspective in a debt validation letter to get an immediate response from debt collectors.

Negotiate with Debt Collectors

If debt collectors continue to try to contact or harass you, your attorneys can negotiate with them and even speak to collectors on your behalf. This can be highly beneficial if debt collectors have been aggressive or tried to intimidate you, and you don't wish to interact with them whatsoever any longer.

In many cases, debt collectors who harass debtors do so because they believe they can intimidate debtors into giving them what they want. When they see a knowledgeable team of attorneys backing them, many debt collectors back down and stop their efforts.

Represent You in Court

In some situations, it may be advantageous to sue the debt collector or collection agency that is harassing you. If you sue them, your attorneys can represent you in court and put together a strong case to ensure you receive damages for the harassment that you suffered previously.

Navigating any court case alone is difficult, even in the best of circumstances. Should you decide to sue a debt collector for inappropriate behavior, don’t do it alone. Make sure you have attorneys working for you so your lawsuit turns out successfully.

Contact Fair Credit Today

Ultimately, no one should be subject to creditor harassment. Remember that you always have rights, and even though debt collectors can pursue you for money you owe, they have to do so legally. If they aren’t, you should contact Fair Credit today.

As experienced credit and debt harassment attorneys, we’re the perfect law firm to contact if you’re having trouble with one or more debtors. We’ll review your situation, recommend legal actions, and support you throughout the process. Contact us today to learn more.