Reduce Credit Card Debt - Uncle Sam can Help

By Elanora Kelly

Getting behind in your debts can require a debt collector making contact with you. Sometimes, you would feel unhappy as thoughts of maltreatment or aggressive behaviour from the collector cross your thoughts. To guard you, the Federal Trade Commission ( FTC ), America's consumer protection agency, enforces the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( FDCPA ) that proscribes debt collectors from employing arbitrary and fraudulent practices to gather from you.

Under this Act, debt collectors are those that collect debt from others. They might be collection agencies, barristers who collect debt on a constant basis, and firms that buy obligations and then try and collect them.

The Act covers private, family and household obligations, as well as cash owed on a private Visa card account, auto loan, medical bill and mortgage. It doesn't include debts generated to help a business.

This Act restricts the way of contacting debt collectors. They may not get in touch with you at inconvenient places or times, say before eight in the morning or after nine at night, unless you agree to it. They might also not reach you at work unless you've been informed either orally or in writing.

After getting the facts to rights from the collector, and you decide that you don't would like to have another encounter, it is of course possible to make him stop talking to you thru writing. Make a copy of your letter and send the first by authorized mail. Pay for a "return receipt" so you can record what the collector received. Once received, the collector may not contact you again, with two exceptions : he may tell you that no further contacts shall be made or that the opposing party means to take an action, like filing court action. This can not eradicate your debt, but should suffice stop the contact.

If you hired an attorney to represent the debt, the collector must contact the attorney and not you. Otherwise, they may contact other people only once just to get your location, phone number and any pertinent details.

If you believe that you do not owe anything or at least not all the cash, they must stop touching base with you provided that you make a response to their mail inside thirty days after invoice of notice. they can get in touch with you if they send you a corroboration notice of the bill.

Debt collectors are not allowed to make false statements, harass or perpetrate unfair practices on the consumer. If you experience any problems with a debt collector, report them to the state Attorney General's Office and the Federal Trade Commission. Debt collection laws may vary from state to state, so your Attorney General's Office can help you determine your rights under your state's law. - 29971

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