Yes, federal law places certain restrictions on debt collection calls if you qualify for protection under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). You might even recover financial damages for calls made in violation of the FDCPA with the help of experienced federal debt collections defense lawyer Jibreal S. Hindi. Call his office at (844) 542-7235 or connect with his legal team online if you’re being unduly harassed by a collection agency.
The FDCPA limits the time, place, and manner of certain collection efforts as follows:
Generally, a debt collector may not call you at an ‘unusual time,’ which courts generally agree means before 8:00 a.m. and after 9:00 p.m. in your time zone. They are also prohibited from calling you at an inconvenient place without a corresponding court order.
Collections agencies may not call you at your place of employment if you inform the agency that an employer prohibits such calls in the workplace. Attorneys generally recommend you do so in writing.
If you retain an experienced FDCPA lawyer to handle your debt, either through negotiations or disputes, the collections agency may not contact you directly. All communication, including phone calls, must proceed through your attorney.
If you either refuse in writing to pay a debt or request that the agency cease all communications, the agency is required to stop calling you. They may inform you that collections efforts are being stopped and about appropriate legal remedies that may be pursued, but they must stop all phone calls.
Debt collectors are prohibited from engaging in any abusive or harassing conduct, which includes making repeated or continuous telephone calls. The debt collector is presumed to have violated the FDCPA’s Debt Collection Rule if it calls you more than seven times within seven days or within seven days after engaging in a telephone conversation with you about the particular debt. Courts also look at the frequency and pattern of the phone calls to determine whether you’re being harassed under the FDCPA. For example, calling you seven times within the same day may violate anti-harassment rules.
If the debt collector fails to comply with FDCPA provisions, an experienced consumer protection lawyer might help you recover financial damages. These include the following:
In some cases, your lawyer might help you levy these violations against the debt owed. Exceptions also apply to certain phone calls, however, so it’s always important to speak with legal counsel about your rights before reaching out to the collections agency.
If you’re being harassed by a debt collector over the phone, you may be entitled to financial damages under the FDCPA. Discuss whether you qualify for federal protections and the potential remedies available to you with national consumer protection attorney Jibreal S. Hindi by calling (844) 542-7235 or connecting with his anti-harassment team online.