The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) provides protection to consumers in situations where third party debt collectors are attempting to collect a debt. This law requires debt collectors to be honest, treat consumers with respect whether they owe the alleged debt or not, and to not use unfair means while collecting the alleged debt.

If a debt collector violates the FDCPA, a consumer can bring a claim against that collector in Court and obtain monetary relief for the violation.

The FDCPA specifically provides for statutory damages of between $100-$1000 plus reasonable attorney fees and costs. The FDCPA also allows for compensation for actual damages — like stress and headaches.

You will never owe us anything out of pocket to bring your case. We work on a contingency basis.  As an added incentive, the FDCPA allows for the consumer to recover a reasonable attorney’s fee if we bring a successful action.

In all FDCPA cases, it is extremely important to document all collection activities. We often have new clients call and say they are being bombarded with calls and do not know which way to turn. At the very least, we must know who is calling and what they are calling about. Remember to save all voice messages left on home and wireless phones and document all collection activities.

There are numerous ways a debt collector can violate the FDCPA. The main ones we encounter are:

• Calling and/or leaving messages without disclosing the call is from a debt collector
• Calls to third parties (anyone other than you or your spouse)
• Collecting a debt that cannot legally be collected (discharged in bankruptcy, settled, etc)
• Using profanity or other deceitful language in order to pressure you into paying the alleged debt
• Calling before 8:00 AM, after 9:00 PM, or multiple times per day

More information can be found on the FTC site.  Also, many debt collectors report debt inaccurate information to the credit reporting agencies.  This may give consumers claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act also.