When suffering the constraints of debt, keep in mind that you are entitled to rights and fair treatment. Debtor's often fear the backlash of creditor's hounding them for money. But what they need to realize is that steps have been taken to develop systems that protect debtors from mistreatment.
One major development that has helped debtor's in the fight for financial freedom is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The act was first contracted in 1996 and developed to assist people in debt. As stated by the Federal Trade Commission, "The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act requires that debt collectors treat you fairly and prohibits certain methods of debt collection." However, this act does not prohibit debtors from paying their debts, it just allows them to avoid harassment and unfair treatment.
Under this act, debtors have the right to prevent further contact from creditors. All a debtor must do for this to occur is write a letter requesting the creditor to stop contacting them. With this written request, the creditor no longer has the ability to contact the debtor. The only exception for this is one additional phone call that lets the debtor know they received word and will no longer contact them.
Once contact with the debtor ceases, the creditor seeks others who are connected to the debtor. Often, the creditors contact family members of the debtor to try and collect from them. A creditor may only contact outside parties once, and only to request an address, a phone number, and place of employment of the debtor. However, this is illegal, as the creditor may not speak about the debtor's debt to anybody besides the debtor and their attorney.
Although the debtor is no longer in contact with creditors, they are still obligated to pay back their debt. The debtor should request the creditor to send them written proof of their debt. This document must state the name of the original creditor, the original amount of debt, and what the debtor does if they feel they don't owe the money. Shall the debtor refute the debt, they must in turn submit a letter stating so.
Collectively, debtors have new rights when dealing with creditors. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits creditors from harassing debtors as well as keeps them from harassing people connected to the debtor. With these new rights in place, a debtor now have an option for reducing their stress level by ending creditors’ harassment.
