Many people with debt problems don’t know that the Federal Trade Commission, the government’s consumer protection agency, has debt collector laws that prevent harassment from debt collectors. If you have taken out one or more high-interest payday loans and have fallen behind on your payments, your creditors are probably making repeated attempts at payday loan collections. These can include telephone calls, letters, emails, and other attempts to contact you. Some debt collectors have been known to overstep the boundaries of the law in their attempts to get payment on a loan or debt.
Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act of 2006, debt collectors are unfair and prohibited from using abusive or deceptive practices to collect money from you.
What Are Unfair Collection Practices?
Some debt collectors resort to calling clients repeatedly on the telephone, calling at inconvenient times, attempting to contact them at work, and even trying to contact their neighbors or family members. A few have even been known to threaten or intimidate debtors in order to get them to pay.
According to the law, a debt collector cannot contact you at inconvenient times or places, such as early morning, late at night, or at work, unless you agree to such contact. If you tell a debt collector, either orally or in writing, that you are not allowed to get calls at work, the collector may not contact you there.
How do I stop calls from debt collectors? Harassment won’t get the bills paid any faster.
If you simply do not have the means to pay your bills, harassment from debt collectors won’t get them paid any faster. If a bill collector tries to contact you about a debt, even if it is one that you can’t repay immediately or that you don’t think you owe, it is a good idea to talk to them at least once to resolve the matter. Afterwards, if you don’t want further contact, you must inform the collector in writing that you want them to stop contacting you.
On its website the Federal Trade Commission recommends the following procedure to stop calls from debt collectors:
Create a copy of your letter and send the original by certified mail (return receipt requested) to the collection agency. The receipt is your proof that the collector received your letter. Once the collection agency receives the letter, debt collector laws ensure the calls and letters must stop. The collector is allowed to contact you once more, either to say that there will be no more contact, or to inform you of a specific action they intend to take, such as filing a lawsuit.
Be aware that sending a letter to a collection agency does not eliminate your debt; it simply stops the harassing phone calls and letters. Your creditors can still sue you to collect your debt.
Now Is The Time To Get The Help You Need To Manage Your Debt
Once you have eliminated harassing contact from debt collectors, it is time to take steps to get out of debt. You might want to consider a debt consolidation loan, or a debt consolidation program to help you consolidate your debts into one manageable monthly payment. Debt collector laws, if understood and used wisely, can give you the breathing space you need, to seek long term debt solutions.For more information debt collector laws.

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