Did you know that bill collector harassment happens to millions of people on daily basis. If it’s happening to you than Your Legal Rights Advocates can help. First and foremost, debt harassment happens any time that a bill collector contacts you and treats you poorly in any way. That’s why it’s so important that you know your consumer rights when it comes to bill collectors harassment. Here are six (6) consumer rights to know about bill collectors harassment.
1: Bill Collectors Are Only Allowed To Call At Certain Times
A great deal of bill collectors call consumers at all hours of the day and evening. However, they are only allowed to call you between the hours of 8 am and 9 pm. That means if they call you before 8 am or after 9 pm they are committing bill collector harassment.
2: Bill Collectors Are Not Allowed To Inform Contacts About Your Debt
Many bill collectors will threaten to inform your family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers about your debt in order to embarrass you. People are more likely to pay the debt in order to avoid being embarrassed even if they cannot afford to pay it at that time. However, this is considered bill collector harassment. The bottom line is bill collectors are not allowed to inform any of your contacts about your financial situation.
3: Bill Collectors Must Stop Calling You If You Request It In Writing
Most if not all bill collectors will call you in order to attempt to collect a debt that you owe them. However, you have consumer rights to put a stop to those calls as long as you put the request in writing in the form of a cease and desist letter. If they keep calling you that is a form of bill collector harassment.
4: Bill Collectors Cannot Have You Arrested
Some underhanded bill collectors will threaten to have you arrested unless you start paying off your debt. They have absolutely zero power to have you arrested. Threatening to have you arrested is bill collector harassment
5: Bill Collectors Cannot Garnish Your Wages
Bill collectors cannot garnish your wages. If a bill collector threatens to have you wages garnished they are committing debt collector harassment.
6: Bill Collectors Cannot Take Your Children Away
The worst of the worst bill collectors will threaten to call Child Protective Services and have your children taken away unless you pay your debt. Guess what? They can’t do that. It’s Debt collector harassment.