If you owe debt that you haven’t paid, especially if it has been a while, chances are high that the creditor will begin to contact you. They may even hire a collection agent to collect the debt for them, or sell your debt to a third party to collect. The good news is that in any of these scenarios you can actually tell the creditor to stop contacting you, and they need to listen. If they continue to contact you, they’re actually violating the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act, which dictates the rules and regulations that debt collectors must follow.
In essence, the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act was formed to stop the out of control debt harassment that happens across the United States. Although reputable debt collectors follow the rules, there is a great deal of dishonest ones out there that could care less about the rules. When it comes to telling creditors to stop contacting you there is a process that you must follow and a correct way to do it. That being stated, it is important for you to fully understand the cause and effect of your request, and the consequences that go along with it.
For example, when a collection agency is no longer communicating with you, it doesn’t mean that they have given up their attempt to collect the debt. In fact, there’s a good chance that they will turn the account over to an attorney in order to file a lawsuit against you. This holds especially true if you owe a lot of money, meaning it’s a large account. When a law office does have the account, they must provide you with a copy of the paperwork that they filed.
However, both the attorney and the collection agency are under zero obligations to provide you with a warning that the account is being sent to the attorney for legal proceedings. If you happen to ignore the lawsuit, the court will most likely enter a default judgment against you. If that happens, it will be far more difficult to fight the lawsuit at a later time due to the fact that lawsuits are much easier to defend before a judgment is taken rather than after. In many cases, the debt collector may not choose to send your account to an attorney.
They may decide to sell it to another debt collector instead. If that happens, the process starts from scratch. That means you should ask the new debt collector to stop contacting you as soon as they make the initial contact.
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.
