How can you, as a consumer, protect yourself from debt collectors using unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices to collect consumer debts? This is part 2 of our 3 part series on debt collection practices. Today we discuss inappropriate behavior from a debt collector.

In an era where accessibility is everything and various forms of communication have now emerged, it’s easy to see how consumers can be more susceptible to abusive debt collectors.

Fortunately, under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), debt collector protocols are set out on what they can and cannot do when trying to collect a debt. Moreover, the FDCPA gives rights to debtors who have been treated wrongly by debt collectors.

What constitutes inappropriate behavior from a debt collector?

Harassment and Abuse

A debt collector may not harass, oppress, or abuse any person in connection with the collection of a debt. Therefore, a debt collector may not:

• Use or threaten violence or other criminal means to harm the physical person, reputation, or property of any person
• Use obscene or profane language or other language intended to abuse the listener or reader
• Publish a list of consumers who allegedly refuse to pay debts, except to a consumer reporting agency
• Annoy, abuse, or harass a person through the use of repeated telephone calls or continuous telephone ringing

 Deceptive Practices

A debt collector may not use any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt. Therefore, a debt collector may not:

• Falsely represent or imply that he or she is vouched for, bonded by, or affiliated with the United States or any state, including the use of any badge, uniform, or facsimile thereof
• Falsely represent the character, amount, or legal status of any debt
• Falsely represent or imply that he or she is an attorney
• Falsely represent or imply that nonpayment of the debt will result in the arrest or imprisonment of any person or the seizure of any property or wages of any person
• Threaten to take any action that cannot legally be taken or that the debt collector does not intend to be taken
• Falsely represent or imply that a sale, referral, or other transfer of any interest in a debt may cause the consumer to lose any claim or defense to payment of the debt or become subject to a practice prohibited by the FDCPA
• Falsely represent or imply that the consumer committed a crime
• Communicate or threaten to communicate to any person credit information which is known, or which should be known to be false, including the failure to communicate that a disputed debt is disputed
• Use or distribute any written material designed to appear to be (or falsely represented as) a document authorized, issued, or approved by any court, official, or agency of the United States or any state, or which creates a false impression as to its source, authorization, or approval
• Falsely represent or imply that documents are legal process
• Use any name other than the true name of the debtor collector’s business, company, or organization
• Falsely represent or imply that documents are not legal process forms or do not require action by the consumer
• Falsely represent or imply that a debt collector operates or is employed by a consumer reporting agency

Unfair Practices

A debt collector may not use unfair or unconscionable means to collect or attempt to collect any debt. Therefore, a debt collector may not:

• Collect any amount unless such amount is expressly authorized by the original debt agreement or permitted by law
• Accept a check from a person postdated by more than five days unless such person is notified in writing of the debt collector’s intent to deposit such check or instrument not more than ten nor less than three business days prior to such deposit
• Solicit a postdated check or other postdated payment instrument for the purpose of threatening or instituting criminal prosecution
• Deposit or threaten to deposit any postdated check or other postdated payment instrument prior to the date on such check or instrument
• Cause communication charges to be made to any person by concealment of the true purpose of the communication
• Take or threaten to take any nonjudicial action to effect dispossession or disablement of property
• Communicate by postcard
• Use any language or symbol, other than the debt collector’s address, on any envelope when communicating with a consumer by use of mails or by telegram

Stay tuned for Part 3! Did you miss Part 1? Click here to learn what constitutes debt and a debt collector. If you have a debt collector seeking collections action against you, contact Johnston Tomei Lenczycki & Goldberg LLC for a complimentary consultation. We will review your case for fair debt collecting practices and offer guidance in defending your case. Call us today at (847) 549-0600 or email us at info@lawjtlg.com to schedule a free consultation.