When times are tough and you feel like you are drowning in debt, the last thing you want to do is read through the stack of mail from creditors or answer calls throughout the day from debt collectors. Although you may rightfully owe money to creditors, you do have rights that prevent debt collectors from harassing you.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, enacted in 1977, was created to protect citizens from threats, unwanted calls and harassment from third-party debt collection agencies.

4 Things You Should Know

1) Consumers have the right to sue debt collectors for violating the Act as an individual or in class action suit.

2) The Act protects you from enduring excessive phone calls, threats of violence, arrest or harm and abusive language.

3) Creditors, by law, cannot contact you at inconvenient times. For example, you should not receive phone calls regarding your debt before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.

4) Your creditors or third-party debt collection agencies cannot disclose details or an existence of your debt to people who are not authorized on your account. For example, if a family member answers the phone when a creditor calls, the caller cannot reveal that the purpose of the call is to collect a debt.

Navigating multiple calls and letters can be stressful when your financial resources are dwindling. It’s important for you to know your rights but also your options. Professionals at the Buettner Law Group can help. Contact us for a consultation to learn how you can protect yourself from violations of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.