FDCPA Defense

Congressional findings and declaration of purpose:

A) “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.”

The above is quoted from The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which was enacted to protect consumers from harsh collection practices. Even if you owe a debt, you have many rights, which can be violated by debt collectors’ attempts to persuade you to pay them. Debt collectors have been known to make threats and unreasonable demands in an attempt to scare consumers.

Some of these violations are more common than others, and there are many additional protections in addition to the ones listed above. In addition, some states have additional protections for their residents. Texas, for example, has laws to protect residents from harassment by both original creditors and third-party debt collectors. An attorney who knows your rights can give you a tremendous advantage when dealing with debt collectors. In fact, violations could even offset what you owe or cause the debt to be dismissed in its entirety. In some cases of repeated violations, collectors could be held liable to compensate you thousands of dollars in addition to any attorney fees. If you are delinquent with any creditor or expect that you may be in the near future, know your rights! Contact Advantage Legal Center today!

Below are examples of FDCPA violations:

Communicating with the consumer debtor or anyone else once the debt collector knows the debtor is represented by an attorney.
Communicating with the consumer debtor or anyone else once the debt collector knows the debtor is represented by an attorney.
Informing others, including family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers that you owe a consumer debt.
Using language or symbols on envelopes or any mail parcels that indicate that the communication is from a debt collector or the contents of the mail parcel relates to the collection of debt.
Using or threatening the use of physical violence or other means to harm one’s person, reputation, or property.
Using language that is intended to abuse the person listening.
Calling consumer debtors repeatedly with the intent to annoy, abuse, and harass.
Not divulging their identity and collection agency name.
Represent falsely that they are a police officer, government official, or affiliated with the United States government.
Falsely represent that they are an attorney or that their communication is from an attorney.
Threaten that non-payment will result in arrest or imprisonment.
Threaten that nonpayment will result in loss of property or loss of wages.
Threaten to take action that the collector cannot legally take. One such violation may be the garnishment of wages in a state that does not permit them.
State that the consumer committed a crime.
Threaten to communicate information that is false or should be known to be false.
Use false, misleading, or deceptive information in an attempt to collect a debt.