Ramsey County

Making $ense of Dollars and Cents

April 7, 2008

Collectors Rights vs. Your Rights

          According to the Consumer Action News, a consumer advocacy organization, more people complain to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) about debt collectors than about any other problem.  Even if you owe someone money, you have a right by law to be treated fairly. The Federal Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA), is designed to protect you from harassment but the law only applies to debt collectors and collection attorneys – not to companies collecting their own original debts.

          Under the FDCPA, collection agents cannot –

          - Call you before 8 am or after 9 pm

          - Misrepresent who they are

          - Contract you at work if your employer prohibits it

          - Threaten you or use obscene language

          - Claim you own more than you do.

          - Claim that you will be imprisoned or that your property will be sized

          - Contact third arties about your debt. To locate you, collectors can contact your spouse, your attorney and if your parents if you are a minor.

          If you owe a debt but you are not in a position to pay it, your options include -

          - Contact the company and explain why you can’t pay. If you are temporarily unemployed, for example, you may be able to negotiate paying in an installment plan.  Once you settle on an amount and repayment plan, ask for a signed letter from the collector stating that the plan you agreed to release you from further obligations. The letter is your proof of what you owe and don’t owe.

          - If you cannot pay your debt because you live exclusively on Social Security or disability income, collectors cannot legally claim this money even if you are sued. Such benefit income is classified as “exempt funds.”

          Even if debt collectors aren’t breaking the law, you can stop them from contacting you. Send a cease and desist letter which is a certified letter insisting that they stop.  Keep a copy. Collectors may only contact you one last time to notify you about what their next step will be. 

          If you are sued, show up in court and explain why you can’t pay. According to a 2006 Boston Globe investigation, 80% of debtors sued in Massachusetts don’t show up in court, which makes winning very easy for collectors.  

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524 4th Ave NE #5, 2nd Floor Ramsey County Courthouse
Devils Lake  ND  58301
701-662-7027
email - ramsey@ndsuext.nodak.edu