No. Threatening to have you arrested is specifically prohibited by federal debt collection law (15 U.S.C. § 1692(f)(4)). Failing to pay a consumer debt, such as a credit card debt or medical bills, isn’t criminal. It may result in personal civil liability, but you cannot be arrested for failing to pay your private debts. If you’ve been threatened with arrest or criminal charges during the debt collection process, immediately contact experienced FDCPA lawyer Jibrael S. Hindi for free. He can stop unlawful collection efforts and even obtain financial damages from the debt collection agency. Call (844) 542-7235 or contact him online now.
Congress passed the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) partly because debt collectors were making criminal threats against consumers. Not only do these threats directly violate the FDCPA, but they might also violate local anti-harassment laws. Even implying that you might be arrested for failing to pay a debt isn’t legal, as this is untrue and misleading in most cases. Immediately contact an experienced national consumer protection law firm if the collection agent mentioned criminal charges, arrest, and/or jail for failing to pay.
Importantly, debt collectors are allowed to assert their civil legal rights. Exceptions to the legal threats rule include the following:
Debt collectors may threaten to take you to court as long as they have the legal right to do so. Threatening to sue you is legal if the agency respects any cease-and-desist letters and uses respectful language. Civil legal threats might still violate the FDCPA, however, if the threats exceed the debt collector’s legal rights. Threatening to take property from your family, take ‘everything,’ or using harsh and demeaning language in the process might be illegal.
If you fail to pay certain tax debts, family obligations (child support), or fines and restitution as part of a criminal sentence, the government might have the authority to arrest you. The same rules do not apply to government debt collectors, but this still doesn’t make it legal to threaten to have you unlawfully arrested.
If, during the collections process, the agency uncovers criminal conduct – such as fraud or identity theft – it might legally threaten to inform the police about its concerns. This is not the same as threatening to have you arrested, however, as they do not have the authority to make those decisions.
If a private debt collector threatened to have you arrested, an FDCPA attorney might help you obtain the following damages under 15 U.S.C. § 1692(l):
Discuss whether you have a claim for damages after arrest threats with a qualified consumer protection law firm.
Because you can obtain legal fees from debt collectors who make illegal arrest threats, it could cost you nothing to hire experienced FDCPA attorney Jibrael S. Hindi. Confidentially discuss your concerns with his dedicated national consumer protection team today by calling (844) 542-7235 or connecting with them online.