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[T440]The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

by Steve Austin, Ste

An abundant evidence of the use of abusive, deceptive, and unfair credit collection practices by many debt collectors led to the declaration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The purpose of the Act, approved in September 1977, was to eliminate abusive debt collection practices by debt collectors and to promote consistent state action to protect consumers against debt collection abuses and invasions of individual privacy.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act laid down specific guidelines pertaining to the following procedures:

1. Acquisition Of Information [Sec 804]
Any debt collector seeking to acquire location information of a consumer would identify himself and his purpose correctly and if the need arises also disclose his employer. At no point during the inquiry process shall the collector state or imply that a consumer owes any debt, as this shall amount to invasion of individual privacy. Once the enquiry process has been completed, any correspondence thereafter shall be with the attorney of the said consumer only.

2. Communication With the Consumer [Sec 805]
The debt collector may not communicate with the consumer at any such place or time, which may be known to be inconvenient to the consumer. If the collector has information that an attorney represents the consumer, then any communication with the consumer should be done only if the attorney fails to respond to the collector's communication.

3. Abuse Or Harassment Of The Consumer [Sec 806]
A debt collector may not engage in any conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse any person in connection with the collection of a debt. A collector may not resort to acts of violence or threats thereof in order to coerce the consumer into obliging to the collector.

4. Misrepresentation For Debt Collection [Sec 807]
A debt collector may not use any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt. The debt collector may not represent or in any way implicate that nonpayment of the debt will result in the arrest or imprisonment of any person or the seizure, attachment or sale of any property of any person unless such action is lawful and the debt collector or creditor intends to take such action.

5. Debt Validation [Sec 809]
Within five days after the initial communication with a consumer, the debt collector shall send the consumer a written notice containing the exact amount of debt, the name of the creditor and the due date of payment.

6. Civil Liability [Sec 813]
Any debt collector who fails to comply with any provision of this act is liable to such person in an amount equal to the extent of actual damage to the consumer and may be liable to pay the consumer the defendant attorney's fees reasonable in relation to the work expended and costs.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act provides guidelines for all kinds of debt collection. For all debt collectors, be in-house or collection agencies, it is must to understand the act and stay within the legally permitted boundaries. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act has enough provisions for collection agencies and departments to help them get the dues from the debtors legally.

In 1978, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was added, as Title VIII, to the Consumer Credit Protection Act. Its purpose is to ensure debt collection is pursued fairly rather than abusively and to give consumers a way to dispute or validate the accuracy of certain debt information. Guidelines inform collectors on how to conduct business, the rights of consumers and the penalties for violating the Act.

How exactly does one violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?

There are several ways to violate the Act, beginning with a failure to follow proper protocol when obtaining information: During this process, a collector must identify himself and state merely that he is collecting information, not that the consumer in question is in debt. The collector may only approach an individual once unless otherwise requested, and communication cannot be in the form of a post card. Any documents exchanged must not reveal that the collector is attempting to collect from the debtor, and finally, once an attorney is obtained by the debtor, the collector must go through the attorney and no other individual.

Similarly, when collecting the debt, certain rules apply: Communication between the debtor and the collector may not take place at any unusual or inconvenient time or place. In most cases this means meeting no earlier than 8 a.m. and no later than 9 p.m. If an attorney has been hired, communication must go through the attorney, and a collector must not contact the debtor at his/her place of work if the collector knows the employer would object to this. Moreover, third parties may not be included without full consent from the consumer, and if the consumer indicates that communication should be stopped as a result of debts being repaid or other steps taken, the collector must cease all communication.

A third type of violation occurs when the collector harasses or abuses the debtor or provides false and/or misleading information. Harassment or abuse involves: threatening violence; using obscene language or language intended to abuse the debtor; calling repeatedly with the intent of annoyance; publishing a list of consumers who do not pay debts; advertising a debt for sale so as to coerce payment; not disclosing one’s identity when calling.

False or misleading representation refers to alleging the debt is in some way connected to the United States federal government or a state government and using to a badge or other government ID to back up this claim; providing false information about a debt’s status, character or amount; implying that information not siphoned through an attorney has been; making unjustifiable threats; and similar acts of misrepresentation.

If a consumer feels the Act has been violated, he may file a private lawsuit in state or federal law to collect damages and can, in fact, collect up to $1,000 plus attorney fees without proving actual damages, if claiming statutory damages and the debt is proven to have violated the Act. The Federal Trade Commission, if aware of a violation, may also take action against the collector.

For more information, read the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf

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Both Steve Austin & Joe Cline are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Steve Austin has sinced written about articles on various topics from Medical Insurance, Debt Reductions and Legal Matters. . Steve Austin's top article generates over 22200 views. to your Favourites.

Joe Cline has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Based Business, Education Toys and Pets. About the Author:Joe Cline is a freelance writer who frequently contributes and comments on legal issues. Learn more by visiting website.. Joe Cline's top article generates over 5000000 views. to your Favourites.