At Consumer Justice Law Firm, we help you recover from the harmful consequences of debt collection harassment by upholding and protecting your rights under the law. We do everything the law allows to hold debt collectors accountable for the reckless way they treat you.
GET JUTICE for debt collection harassment!
We make unscrupulous debt collectors
- Stop debt collection harassment and stop trying to collect payment for debts they aren’t allowed to collect
- Pay you money for any harm they cause
- Pay your legal bills (you pay $0 out of pocket)
Quick Links
What Counts as Debt Collection Harassment?
Debt collection harassment is a specific type of consumer protection violation that happens when debt collection agencies violate the rules of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
Debt collection harassment usually involves agencies:
- trying to collect a real debt, but doing it in a way that causes mental, emotional, reputational, professional, or financial harm to you
- trying to collect a debt that isn’t yours, isn’t real, or is based on a data reporting error at a financial company (like the type of errors that happen when your data gets mixed with someone else’s)
- trying to collect a debt they have no right to collect, such as medical bills related to covered workers comp or Medicaid care
Debt collection harassment is a common problem experienced by consumers every day. In fact, research by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that as many as 25% of all consumers contacted by debt collectors felt threatened by the interaction they had.
Just because you may owe a debt doesn’t mean you don’t have a right to live peacefully.
How Debt Collection Harassment Harms You
- Credit harm. While not all collection efforts can be reported to the credit bureaus, many can. When debt collectors notify the Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion about a debt in collections, your credit score and creditworthiness can take a huge hit.
- Financial harm. While debt collection harassment can impact your financial life in unique ways. For instance, debt collectors may intimidate you into repaying a loan or agreeing to a repayment plan on a debt they have no right to collect. Plus, falsely believing you need to pay when you don’t or being harassed into paying a debt all at once can cause you to miss other payments or take on even more debt.
- Reputational damage. If debt collectors pursue you at work or through friends, relatives, employers, social media, and other avenues in ways that violate the rules of debt collection, it can damage your reputation among peers, colleagues, and others.
- Mental and emotional distress. It’s hard to overstate the level of mental and emotional stress involved in debt collection harassment. In fact, that’s the point of it. A common tactic of debt collection harassment is to intentionally create overwhelming stress and anxiety through fear and intimidation tactics.
3 Steps To Take if You’re Being Harassed By Debt Collectors
STEP 1 Talk to a lawyer
Working with a lawyer is a game changer whether you owe the debt or not. When you owe a debt, if you provide your attorney’s info, debt collectors typically have to leave you alone and only communicate through your attorney. When you don’t owe a debt, you may have the right to bring a lawsuit straight away. A lawyer clearly sets out your rights, guides you through the legal process, and gets you compensation.
STEP 2 Keep records of everything
Keep notes about every interaction you have with a debt collection agency. Write down all the details you remember as soon as you can. Include things like the date, time, length, summary of what they said (especially threats or intimidation), summary of what you said (e.g. “Don’t call me at work.”), and the name of the person you spoke with. Keep copies of letters, print out copies of emails, save screenshots of social media engagement, etc.
STEP 3 Be stingy with info
Until you talk to a lawyer, try not to do any of the following: confirm you have a debt, explain why you have debt or why you can’t pay it, agree to repay it and agree to repayment terms, or make a payment. If the debt collection attempt raises any red flags for you, trust your gut, keep your info to yourself, and call an attorney.
How a Debt Collection Harassment Attorney Helps
Not every debt collection harassment case ends in a lawsuit, but many do. Litigation usually becomes necessary when debt collection agencies fail to do the right thing. Seemingly simple things can become prolonged and painful battles.
6 Key Things a Debt Collection Harassment Lawyer Knows
- We know the law. We know the laws that protect you and how to fight the careless mega-corporations and debt collection agencies using every possible legal option available.
- We know the problems. We’ve seen, heard, and handled every type of debt collection harassment problem and put our full knowledge and resources into everything we do.
- We know the tricks. We know the tactics used by these agencies to bully, harass, threaten, scare, and intimidate you. They profit from your fear. We win when you win.
- We know how to navigate the process. We help you gather necessary data and evidence, craft and file legally sound disputes, and advise you of your rights and best practices along the way.
- We know how to file a lawsuit. If you’re being targeted by debt collection harassment or pursued for debts you don’t owe, we file a lawsuit to hold debt collectors accountable.
- We know how to get you money. If you’ve been harmed by unscrupulous debt collectors and you’re entitled to compensation, we know how to maximize it.
Pro Tip! Don’t underestimate the peace of mind that comes from knowing that every next move is the right move toward recovery. Working with us is a smart move.
What is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal law that sharply limits the way debt collectors can engage with you. We reply on this critical legislation to build the best possible cases and get the best possible outcomes.
Your Rights Under the FDCPA
Debt collectors CANNOT
- Harass, abuse, or threaten you. This includes cursing at you or suggesting criminal arrest or similar. Keep notes on every interaction, phone call, letter, etc., because you have to demonstrate a pattern of abuse and harassment.
- Call you constantly. Debt collectors are limited by the 7-in-7 Rule. They can only call you up to seven times in seven days. This includes leaving voicemail. And, if a debt collector speaks to you directly at any point, they must wait another seven days before contacting you again. Violating the 7-in-7 Rule is considered proof of harassment.
- Call you at night. Debt collectors can only call you between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in your time zone.
- Call you at work. If you inform a debt collector that you can’t take personal calls at work, they can no longer call you during work hours. If they do, it’s proof of harassment.
- Force you to talk at inconvenient times. If you inform a debt collector that it’s inconvenient for you to talk (for instance, if you’re at a medical appointment, school event, or similar), they must end the call immediately.
- Publicly contact you on social media. Debt collectors can only contact you on social media through private messaging. They cannot post publicly that you owe a debt or they’re trying to reach you.
- Contact you by text, email, or social media if you opt out. You have the right to opt out of these contact methods and they have to make it easy for you to do so.
- Contact you if you’re working with an attorney. If you provide a debt collector with the name and contact info (address and phone number) for your lawyer, they typically have to go through your lawyer going forward.
- Have their lawyers harass you instead. Collection agencies and other companies can’t just have their lawyers harass you. The same rules apply.
What to Do if Data Errors Cause Debt Collectors to Unfairly Target You
- Beware so-called debt dispute companies. They charge fees to offer minimal guidance after you’ve been sued for an unpaid debt. Debt collection harassment lawyers actually know the law, work with you for nothing out of pocket, and get paid by the debt collectors when we win.
- Review your financial statements, billing statements, and credit reports for mistakes.
- Gather any evidence and documentation you have to support your dispute.
- Write a thorough and clear letter explaining exactly which information is wrong and why.
- Mail your letter, along with copies of the supporting documents, via certified mail to the companies involved (usual creditors, account holders, or credit bureaus). This preserves your rights and leaves an easily traceable trail. Avoid using online dispute platforms if they make you waive your legal rights.
- Keep a copy of any letter and documents for your file, along with mail receipts.
- Track the days. They have 30 days to respond.
- Don’t give up. If they don’t respond, don’t investigate, don’t fix the errors, or claim that their investigation confirmed the bad data, you need a lawyer NOW.
Read more about disputing consumer reporting errors on our Credit Reporting Errors practice page.
How Fee-Shifting Works
One of the most important and least known facts about fighting back against debt collection harassment is that you don’t have to pay out of pocket for legal help.
Under the FDCPA and the FCRA, you are not expected to spend your own money or take on debt just to dispute reporting errors, push back against false demands, take a stand against harmful tactics, or similar. The law makes the ones who caused the problem pay to fix it.
At Consumer Justice Law Firm, we respect this fee-shifting provision for the role it plays in our legal system. It is an equalizer, bringing justice to everyone, including those who otherwise couldn’t afford to work with an attorney. The law has cleverly carved out a way to center equity and fairness in legal representation for consumers harmed by big business data errors and unscrupulous and illegal debt collection practices.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I trust someone who says I owe a debt?
No. Since we also help victims of identity theft, it is important to remind you that no one who just calls, emails, texts, or sends correspondence out of the blue should just be taken at face value.
Sometimes you don’t recognize a debt because it’s a genuine error and shouldn’t be linked to you. Other times, you don’t recognize a debt because it’s a scam. Even if you recognize the name of a familiar company, you should independently verify every detail without clicking any links, responding, offering any information, or acknowledging the communication in any way.
Do not use any info provided by the debt collection agency to verify the debt. Call entities, lenders, insurance companies, healthcare providers, etc., using whatever contact information you already have on file. Also, research the name of the debt collection agency. Frequently, scams target a wide audience, so you may be able to quickly identify a scam.
Do I need to work with a lawyer if I’m being harassed by a debt collector?
As with all areas of consumer protection law, the answer is no. You do not have to work with an attorney to handle debt collection harassment.
However, working with a lawyer early in the process is one of the best ways to preserve your sanity, protect your finances, and optimize your outcome. Whether you’re legitimately in debt collections and being harassed or you’re unfairly being targeted for a debt you don’t owe, debt collectors are especially good at playing on your fears of financial, reputational, and emotional harm.
By its very nature, debt collection is an industry that seeks to exploit common vulnerabilities and a general lack of knowledge in order to extract as much profit gain as possible, as quickly as possible. Don’t underestimate how fast debt collection harassment can snowball through your life. Working with an attorney costs you ZERO out of pocket. The peace of mind alone is worth it. Keep your money where it belongs. Make them pay instead.