The following is a guest post by Cindy from Oh My Aching Debts, where she blogs about surviving the tough times, getting out of debt, and saving money. If you like this post, consider subscribing to her RSS feed.
Having written a great deal on dealing with debt collectors and negotiating debt settlements, this story by Fox in Philadelphia caught my eye. “Debt Collector Says She Is Coming For You” is an interview with a six figure salary collection agent who loves her job and a look at what these calls do to the lives of the people who receive them.In the interview the woman gloats about insulting people to their wives, neighbors, employers as well as to themselves. She is good at what she does because she is good at intimidating people and scaring them. It works because people like you and I don’t know our rights.
I want to stress that what this woman is doing is illegal. Her employer could be subject to a $1000 fine for every infraction of the law that this woman is intentionally doing according to the Fair Debt Collections Act. I have recently heard of a case where a collection agency was fined over a million dollars for their actions.
Illegal Collection Practices
- It is illegal to threaten you.
- It is illegal to harass you (insulting you, calling you names, etc)
- It is illegal to call your neighbors, family or references except to get a contact number for you.
- It is illegal to tell your employer anything.
- It is illegal to call you at work if you tell them not to do so.
- It is illegal to call you before 8 am or after 9 pm.
- It is illegal to threaten you with legal action unless they are going to proceed with it.
- It is illegal for them to even call you if you request in writing that they stop.
If you are being harassed by a collection agency, learn what your rights are by reading this brochure by the Federal Trade Commission
What to Do If This Happens To You
- Stop taking their phone calls.
- Make notes of everything they have said and to whom they said it.
- Send a cease and desist letter by certified, return receipt requested mail.
- If they have been blatantly harassing you, contact an attorney or your state attorney general’s office or call the FTCs Help line at 1-877-FTC-HELP.
- Find out what the statute of limitations for your state is as they cannot sue you if it has expired. The clock starts running when you went into default NOT when the collection agency bought the debt.
- Send them a letter requesting written proof that you owe the debt. Again, by certified, return receipt requested.
- If they cannot provide proof then they cannot continue to try to collect or report it on your credit report.
- If they continue to harass you, then you can file a small claims suit against them. You don’t need an attorney to do this and you can win.
I fully believe that we should all pay our debts but I also believe that when a collection agent wants to play hard ball, we need to play back on their terms. They are knowingly defying the laws that were written to protect us. The solution is to use those laws to fight back.
译文:
一个失败的讨债者的例子
下面的这位客人是由凯蒂举荐的，她在《
让我头痛的债务》一文中讲述了她是如何度过还债省钱的艰难日子的。如果你喜欢这个帖子，考虑一下
订阅她的RSS文件吧（发布一个RSS文件后，这个RSS Feed中包含的信息就能直接被其他站点调用，而且由于这些数据都是标准的XML格式，所以也能在其他的终端和服务中使用，如PDA、手机、邮件列表等）。
我已经写了许多有关如何应对讨债者和如何协商债务协议的文章了，但是这个福克斯的这个发生在费城的故事还是深深地吸引了我。“
讨债者说她是为你而来的”是一档电视栏目，节目中参访了一为薪酬为六位数的收款代理人，她说她很热爱自己的工作并认为自己的工作是在为人们的生活服务。在访谈中，这位女士对自己辱骂他人的妻子、邻居、雇员及他们自身的行为感到洋洋得意。她十分擅长自己的工作，因为她精于羞辱别人并恐吓他人。由于人们与你有些许类似，所以这些方法奏效，而且人们并不知道自己的权利。
我要强调一下，这个女士的所作所为是非法的。根据《公平债务催收实践法案》，这位女士有意为之的每一项违反法律的行为，她的雇员都很可能被判罚款$1000。我最近还听说，有一个收款代理人因为自己的行为被判罚款超过一百万美元。
非法的收款行为
* 威胁他人是非法的。
* 骚扰（辱骂、叫你的名字等）是违法的。
* 打电话给你的邻居、家人或介绍人是违法的，除非这么做是为了获得你的联系电话。
* 告诉你的员工与此有关的任何事情是违法的。
* 如果你告诉他们不要在你上班的时候打电话给你，但是他们仍那么做，这种行为是违法的。
* 在早上八点前及晚上九点后打电话给你是违法的。
* 除非他们会继续进行法律救济，否则如果他们威胁你会采取法律手段，这也是违法的。
* 如果你写信请求他们停止讨债的行为但是他们依旧打电话给你，这也是违法的。
如果你被一个收款代理人所烦扰，通过阅读这本
联邦贸易委员会的小册子，你会知道你自己有什么权利。
如果事情发生在你身上，你能做什么 * 不要接听他们的来电。
* 记录下他们说的每一个事项，并写下他们是对谁说的。
* 以挂号信的形式向他们寄送一封终止信，并要求回执。
* 如果他们公开侮辱你，联系律师或你所在州的检查长办公室或者联系联邦贸易委员会的求助热线，热线是1-877-FTC-HELP。
* 查看一下你们州的限制条款是什么，看看时不时还债日期到期后他们就不能再起诉你了。无效日期是从你违约日起算的，不是从收款人把账单带给你时起算。
* 要求他们给你书面证明，证明你有欠债。也要以挂号信形式基础，要有回执。
* 如果他们继续骚扰你，小小的告他们一状。你不必请律师，自己就能获胜。
我完全坚信我们应该欠债还钱，但是我也相信，但一个收款代理人想要为此不择手段时，我们也有必要以牙还牙。他们在狡猾地藐视保护我们的法律。解决知道就是用这些法律予以还击。