The Bill Collector Letter That Finally Gets Rid of Them
You know that feeling you get when a letter from a bill collector comes in the mail? The cold feeling you get when you realize that you owe money that you can't repay? And after that, the endless telephone calls and letters demanding that you pay money that you don't have?
It's time to turn the tables. It's time to learn your rights and to exercise them.
There's a Federal law called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that outlines exactly what a collector can and cannot do to collect on a debt. The FDCPA, as it is called, sets limits on when and how a debt collector can contact you.
One example is that a debt collector can't call you at work, unless it's to find out a telephone number they can use to call you at home. They also can't inform other people, especially your employer, about any outstanding debts that you have.
Additionally, collection agents cannot call you or contact you in any other way if you inform them that they may no longer do so. That's all we're going to learn how to do.
The magic letter to bill collectors is made up of two parts:
The first thing is your identifying information. This includes your name, address, account number of the debt that the bill collector is trying to collect on, and any other information that they need to identify you.
The second part is to let them know that you want them to stop communicating with you, period.
These two things are all that the FDCPA requires that you do to keep the debt collector from harassing you or contacting you in the future. The only correspondence that the debt collector can send you in the future is a letter that says they will cease contacting you, and whether they're going to pursue any legal action to collect on the debt.
When you send this letter, it's always good to send it by certified mail with a delivery receipt requested. The delivery receipt lets you know that the debt collector actually received the letter. Make sure that you keep this receipt in case you ever have to prove that they received the letter.
According to the rules of the FDCPA, if the debt collector continues to contact you in the future, they're in violation of the law. You then have the right to report them to the FTC, which is the agency that actually enforces the FDCPA. After you've notified the FTC about the legal violation by the debt collector, the FTC can take legal action against the debt collector on your behalf.
Don't forget that even if you notify the debt collector not to contact you anymore, they can still pursue you via legal action if they want to collect on the debt. The letter I've described can only keep debt collectors from harassing you. It can't keep them from suing you in a court of law if they still intend to collect on the debt. - 23305
It's time to turn the tables. It's time to learn your rights and to exercise them.
There's a Federal law called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that outlines exactly what a collector can and cannot do to collect on a debt. The FDCPA, as it is called, sets limits on when and how a debt collector can contact you.
One example is that a debt collector can't call you at work, unless it's to find out a telephone number they can use to call you at home. They also can't inform other people, especially your employer, about any outstanding debts that you have.
Additionally, collection agents cannot call you or contact you in any other way if you inform them that they may no longer do so. That's all we're going to learn how to do.
The magic letter to bill collectors is made up of two parts:
The first thing is your identifying information. This includes your name, address, account number of the debt that the bill collector is trying to collect on, and any other information that they need to identify you.
The second part is to let them know that you want them to stop communicating with you, period.
These two things are all that the FDCPA requires that you do to keep the debt collector from harassing you or contacting you in the future. The only correspondence that the debt collector can send you in the future is a letter that says they will cease contacting you, and whether they're going to pursue any legal action to collect on the debt.
When you send this letter, it's always good to send it by certified mail with a delivery receipt requested. The delivery receipt lets you know that the debt collector actually received the letter. Make sure that you keep this receipt in case you ever have to prove that they received the letter.
According to the rules of the FDCPA, if the debt collector continues to contact you in the future, they're in violation of the law. You then have the right to report them to the FTC, which is the agency that actually enforces the FDCPA. After you've notified the FTC about the legal violation by the debt collector, the FTC can take legal action against the debt collector on your behalf.
Don't forget that even if you notify the debt collector not to contact you anymore, they can still pursue you via legal action if they want to collect on the debt. The letter I've described can only keep debt collectors from harassing you. It can't keep them from suing you in a court of law if they still intend to collect on the debt. - 23305
About the Author:
Sean Payne can tell you a lot about how to get out of debt. After over 10 years of dealing with his own debt problems, he has developed a handy strategy to stop bill collectors calling. You can discover his secrets for paying off debt at his amazing website.
posted by Mr. Forex at
4:26 AM
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