The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) often sees violations of its guidelines. Debt collectors, especially third-party debt collectors, are usually in such a hurry to recover their money, they resort to behavior practices that can lead to harassment and trauma for the consumer.
More recently, according to online reports, a class action lawsuit is being filed in a San Diego consumer court alleging FDCPA violations by a debt collector.
The complaint has been filed by an individual, Adrian Chavez, alleging deceptive and unfair debt collection practices . The complaint talks about a letter sent to collect a debt, but which fails to meet the requirements of an initial communication. The debt collector, identified as Systems & Services Technologies, allegedly did not inform the plaintiffs about a 30 day limit they had to obtain validation and verification on the debt.
Chavez has filed the lawsuit on behalf of other similar complainants, and $1000 is being sought as statutory damages for the plaintiff and all members of the lawsuit, costs of litigation, and lawyer fees.
What is harassing behavior? Given below are some pointers:
Ever experienced a string of phone calls where your phone rings continuously, causing you to stop whatever you may be doing and attending to it? Or receiving calls to remind you of an overdue debt, with strong words, bordering on threats, telling you about legal consequences? This behavior amounts to harassment. As per the FDCPA, the following actions are illegal:
- Making repeated calls to consumers for the purpose of debt collection
- Using obscene language, threatening, or coercing consumers
- Calling consumers before 8 am and after 9 pm
- Calling consumers at their workplace
- Not revealing their identity or pretending to be officers of the court or similar legal entities
- Asking consumers to pay more than the amount owed by them as part of the debt
- Adding their own fee to the original debt amount
If you are a consumer, stop debt collection harassment immediately
Even if you or someone you know are facing harassment due to debt collection attempts, you may not be able to take strong steps to stop it unless you understand your individual case thoroughly and attempt to take it to court. This is where a professional can help you. An FDCPA lawyer understands debt collection violations better. They can help educate you and understand your rights better. Further, a professional can help you with key inputs to ensure you represent a stronger case:
- Maintaining records of the harassment, whether it is phone calls or letters
- Understanding your own debt situation to ascertain how much the debt collector is demanding and whether they are correct or not
- Maintaining records of your own communication with the agency, if any, requesting them to stop and desist from calling you further
Debt collection on overdue debt is not illegal by itself. However, as a consumer, you have every right to protect yourself from harmful practices.
Legal Rights Advocates, PLLC is a law firm that helps clients facing harassment from debt collectors . Our team of attorneys, over the years, has helped countless clients understand their case better, guided them on managing debt collection harassment, and helped them stop it successfully.
If you are interested in learning more, call us at (855) 254-7841 for immediate assistance.