What is Debt Harassment?

Getting a phone call every few days regarding setting up a payment plan is not debt harassment. However, the frequency of those calls, the time of day, and the language used during the call can cause the call to turn into harassment quickly. You can use the following guidelines to determine if you are being harassed.

• Debt collectors may only call between 8am and 9pm.
• Debt collectors may only call your home phone number; they may not contact you at work if they have been told orally or in writing not to.
• Debt collectors may not threaten physical harm or violence
• Debt collectors must us professional language and abstain from obscenities, vulgarity, or profanity.
• Debt collectors may not threaten imprisonment, or arrest.
• Debt collectors may not call repeatedly with the intent to annoy or harass.
• Debt collectors may not publish your name and debt.
• Many more rules found in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

As you can see, collectors have a strict set of rules that they must follow in order to comply with the law. When they step outside of these boundaries, they turn from debt collectors, into debt harassers.

Debtor’s Rights

The laws are designed to make it easier for the debtor to live a peaceful life and not have to worry about calls from a collector at all hours of the day. However, there are those collectors that will still bother you ignoring those laws. Fortunately, you do have rights. You have the right to have an attorney represent you. By doing so, the collections agency must cease all communication with you, and only communicate with your attorney. You also have the right to send a cease communication letter, even without an attorneys help. Unfortunately, the collections agency can still send correspondence showing that they are taking alternative means (such as filing a lawsuit). If you are being harassed, the best thing to do is contact an attorney from right away.

Contact Phillips Dayes

If you live in Arizona or Utah, and you are being harassed by a debt collector, you do not have to sit back and take the abuse. Schedule your free consultation with an attorney from today to learn if you have a case, and what your course of action should be. Let a trained legal professional fight the battle against debt harassment, and save yourself the worry. Fill out the contact form, or call .