It is important to know your rights when it comes to debt harassment in the United States. The majority of debts, such as credit cards, medical bills, and cell phone charges are unsecured. That means you don’t need to put up any collateral such as your home or car to secure repayment. An unsecured creditor collecting a debt that is not owed to the government can only legally do four things if you do not pay their debt. First and foremost they can stop doing business with you. A credit card issuer can cancel your card or a doctor’s office might refuse to let you continue as a patient.
Typically speaking, even if one merchant stops doing business with you, you can find someone else who will do so, on a cash basis or even on credit. They can also report the delinquent debt to a credit bureau. The fact that you are behind on your bills will likely end up on your credit report. You can’t stop this unless you become current on all of your bills. Although this is unfortunate, it still may not make sense to prioritize this particular bill first simply because that collector is threatening to ruin your credit record. The vast majority of creditors routinely report the status of all of their accounts each month to the three (3) major credit bureaus.
When the account is turned over to a collection agency, this also may also appear on your credit report. By the time a collection agency is threatening you about your credit report, your report may already include the fact that the debt is a number of months late and has been turned over for collection. If that’s true, the damage to your credit score has already occurred. That means paying the debt at this point will not do much to improve your credit rating and failing to pay will not likely do much more damage to your credit rating.
In addition, the creditor can contact you in order to ask you to pay the debt. In essence, creditors will attempt to contact you to arrange for payments on overdue accounts. Your account may then be placed with debt collectors who will also try to reach you. Traditionally most of these communications have been in writing or by phone, but some collectors now use email, text, or other types of communication. Last but certainly not least; your creditors can file a lawsuit in order to collect the debt that you owe them. You do have a right to respond and defend yourself.
If you feel that you are being treated unfairly by a creditor or collection agency, please contact us immediately. Legal Rights Advocates, Inc. is a consumer advocate law firm that focuses on consumer rights protection services across the Unites States. We have well over twenty-five (25) years of combined experience helping consumers that are experiencing Debt Collector Harassment, Social Security Disability issues, and a whole lot more. LRA is truly your consumer rights advocate. We take great pride in the fact that our job is to protect you from deceptive and or abusive debt collection practices.
LRA is an accredited member of the Better Business Bureau, and we have well over 500 Five Star Rating Reviews online from across the United States. Our goal is to assist you each and every step of the way regarding your rights for consumer protection. Please call us today for more information at 855-254-7841 or click here to visit our website. We look forward to working with you.
(855) 254-7841
(855) 254-7841
