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Collection Companies

How Can You Stop Collection Companies from Harassing You?

Have you been faithfully making timely repayments of your debt, then somewhere along the way, things start going south and can’t maintain the pace? The most annoying bit of it can be constant harassment from the collection companies.

What some of these collection companies won’t consider is the diligence you had before in making repayments. If perhaps they haven’t started yet, but their nagging behavior is starting to get on your nerves, your gut feeling that you’ve been subjected to unfair debt collection practices could be right.

Collection Companies

Identifying Debt Collection Malpractice

It’s possible to feel like you’re being mistreated but might not be sure if the actions a collection company is taking are right within the law. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) protects you from oppression, harassment, or abuse from collection agencies.
Some of the red alerts for harassment by a collection company include:

  • Calling without proper identification and objective of the call.
  • Multiple phone calls throughout the day.
  • Contacting your relatives or employer.
  • Use of profane language, subjection to threats or harm.
  • Public display of names of defaulters.
  • Seizing of property or belongings without following proper process.

Luckily, there are lots of things you can do to put an end to these unfair treatments. You can sue the collection company for violating the FDCPA, and if you win the case, the agency may be required to pay your legal fees and reimburse you for damages caused.

Stopping Collection Companies’ Harassment

Unfair debt collection practices often add a pile of stress to the already existing difficulties you’re going through. If not put under control, the harassment can drain your energy, leaving you feeling defeated and hopeless.

There are a couple of things you can do to make the harassment stop.

Know your FDCPA rights

Familiarize yourself with the Fair Debt Collection Act, where it’s applicable, and the activities which are prohibited. The Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also provide information on debt collection practices that you can find useful.

Use a calm approach

Debt collectors usually thrive by intimidating a debtor. Their actions are mainly motivated by money. The more money they can get you to cough out, the higher the commission they’ll pocket.

While getting yourself acquainted with the prohibited activities, you’ll find out that collection companies are nothing but bullies. And it’s entirely true. They thrive in their mission through bullying and intimidation, especially if the debtor doesn’t understand their rights.

Maintain your calm when dealing with collection companies over the phone. Don’t be tempted to strike back or intimidate them. Don’t give promises you can’t keep. Always assume that the phone calls are recorded. The more an agent gets rowdy with you, the worse they’ll look.

Keep detailed records

Records provide a great way of backing up your case. Collection companies usually use the telephone and postal mail to contact you, though recently they’re moving towards text messages and emails. Ensure that all correspondences between you and the company are in order. Also, keep your account statements and documentation.

Whenever talking to a collection agent, always get their name, the company they work for, and their call back number. Make notes during the call, which will be invaluable during launch complaints or filing a lawsuit.

Most collection companies usually record phone calls. You can also do the same using inexpensive adapters on your landline or cell phones. In many states, it’s legal to make phone call recordings without the other party’s consent. However, before following this approach, check to understand your state laws regarding phone call recording.

Seek debt verification

Disputing a debt is very important because it’ll help you know who the creditor is and where the debt is coming from. Usually, when creditors don’t get their money back from debtors, they can sell it to collection companies at reduced rates. In turn, the debt buyers will earn their money from you by hiking the debt amount and forcing you to pay, probably with interests.

The debt account owners can change multiple times, with the subsequent debt buyers only getting information about the last debt owner. As such, it may be challenging to identify the creditor from a demand letter.

When a collection company contacts you regarding a debt, they have five days from the time they made contact, to share the information about your debt. They’ll do this in writing, and the letter will contain:

Demand collection agency to cease contact

It’s possible to do a demand letter to the collection company to cease their communications with you. Before doing this, though, you must understand the right approach to doing it and the consequences of your request.

The collector is under FDCPA’s obligation to cease communication. If the collection company stops, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll let go of the debt. They can either inform you that they’ve stopped communicating with you or that they’ve passed the account to their attorney to begin legal proceedings.

Use Our Services to Remove Collection Companies from Your Credit Report

The whole process described above requires a little more attention to make it successful. Even if you succeed in demanding a collection company to stop communication, there are chances that they can advance further to attract litigation.

On the other hand, a 007 credit agent will handle all the stresses with a collection company for you, enabling you to focus on rebuilding your life.

007 Credit Agent is renowned for assisting many borrowers in stopping collection companies from harassing them. We handle a wide range of collection companies, including:

We can help you rebuild your credit report by removing these collection companies, leaving you with a stress-free life.