If you owe money to creditors, you may be under the impression that said creditors have few restrictions on when and how often they can call you. After all, you owe them money and they have the right to remind you. In fact, most people are familiar with debt collectors that send several letters accompanied by harassing phone calls. This behavior is a violation.
Creditors cannot abuse, oppress or harass debtors. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act strictly prohibits this kind of behavior.
Creditors cannot harass you
If your phone rings constantly with repetitious and annoying phone calls from creditors, you may be the victim of creditor harassment. According to the FDCPA, creditors cannot harass or abuse you over the phone. They cannot threaten you with imprisonment, harm or any form of violence. If you find that you are a part of a published list of people who did not pay their debts, this is also a violation. Creditors can only report your debt to the credit reporting company. You may opt to file for bankruptcy to end creditor harassment.
Creditors cannot misrepresent themselves
Creditors cannot act deceptively, explains the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. They cannot mislead you by claiming that you owe a different amount nor can they impersonate an attorney during a call. Some debt collectors will call you, pretend to be an attorney to threaten you with legal action. In addition to illegal threats being a clear violation, the creditor also cannot threaten you with actions that he or she does not plan to take.
Debtors can protect themselves
If your creditors are harassing you, you can document it. Keep all letters that your debt collector sends and any copies of communication that you may send back to them. If collectors call at odd hours, keep track of the times and how often they call. You can also report any harassment by creditors to the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau.