Feature Articles
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
Brenda Procter, M.S., state specialist & instructor, Personal Financial Planning, College of Human Environmental Sciences, University of Missouri Extension
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act requires debt
collectors to treat you fairly and bans certain debt
collection practices. The law does not erase any debt
you actually owe. Personal, family and household debts
are covered under this act.
A debt collector is anyone who collects debts you owe
to some other party who hires them to collect from you.
This includes attorneys who collect debts on a regular
basis.
A collector may contact you in person, by mail,
telephone, telegram or fax. Collectors may not contact
you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. unless you agree. A
debt collector may not contact you at work if the
collector knows that your employer disapproves.
You can stop a debt collector from contacting you by
writing a letter telling them to stop. Once the
collector receives your letter, they may not contact you
again, except to say there will be no further contact or
to notify you that the debt collector or the creditor
intends to take some specific action. You could still be
sued by the debt collector or your original creditor
because you still owe the debt.
The debt collector must contact your attorney, if you
have one. If you do not have an attorney, a collector
may contact other people, but only to find out where you
live, what your phone number is and where you work.
Collectors are usually prohibited from contacting third
parties more than once. In most cases, the collector may
not tell anyone other than you and your attorney that
you owe money.
Within five days after you are first contacted, the
collector must send you written notice. The notice must
tell you the amount of money you owe, the name of the
creditor you owe and what to do if you believe you do
not owe the money. A collector may not contact you if,
within 30 days after you receive the written notice, you
send the collection agency a letter stating that you do
not owe money. A collector can renew collection
activities if you receive proof of the debt, like a copy
of a bill for the amount owed.
If you owe more than one debt, any payment you make
must be applied to the specific debt you say. A debt
collector may not apply a payment to any debt you
believe you do not owe.
You have the right to sue a collector in state or
federal court up to one year after the date the law was
violated.
Report problems with a debt collector to the Missouri
attorney general’s toll-free Consumer Protection hotline
at 1-800-392-8222.
File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and get free information on consumer issues at http://ftc.gov/ or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261.
Adapted from Facts for Consumers, Fair Debt Collection, downloaded on October 13, 2008 from http://www.ftc.gov/.
Last update: Tuesday, May 05, 2009
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