Your Money, Your Goals - A financial empowerment toolkit for social services programs.

Your rights in debt collection

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) says debt collectors may not harass,
oppress, or abuse you or any other people they contact. Some examples of harassment
are:

 Repeated phone calls that are intended to annoy, abuse, or harass you or any

person answering the phone

 Obscene or profane language

 Threats of violence or harm

 Publishing lists of people who refuse to pay their debts (this does not include

reporting information to a credit reporting company)

 Calling you without telling you who they are

The FDCPA also says debt collectors cannot use false, deceptive, or misleading practices.
This includes misrepresentations about the debt, including the amount owed, that the
person is an attorney, threats to have you arrested, threats to do things that cannot legally
be done, or threats to do things that the debt collector has no intention of doing.

It is a good idea to keep a file of all letters or documents a debt collector sends you and
copies of anything you send to a debt collector. Also, write down dates and times of
conversations along with notes about what you discussed. These records can help you if
you have a dispute with a debt collector, meet with a lawyer, or go to court.