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Finance

What are my Debt Collection Rights?

By Luke Arthur
Updated May 17, 2024
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If a debt collector is trying to contact you, you have certain debt collection rights that must be adhered to by the collector. These rights include not being contacted at inconvenient times, not being harassed, and not continuing to contact you after you hire an attorney. The debt collector has to honor any requests to continue all communication in writing. The debt collector also has to send you information about the debt that is owed and introduce himself as a debt collector.

Debt collectors know that you have certain debt collection rights that must be provided. In some cases, the debt collector will not adhere to the rules. One of the biggest rules that is commonly broken is contacting an individual at times that are inconvenient. According to your debt collection rights, debt collectors cannot contact you before 8:00 AM. They also cannot contact you after 9:00 PM. If a debt collector contacts you before or after these times, you should report him to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Another one of your debt collection rights is that a debt collector cannot harass you. If the debt collector repeatedly calls you on the phone even after you hang up on them, this could be considered harassment. Debt collectors are also not allowed to threaten you with violence or use profane language when speaking with you. Something else that could be considered harassment is if the debt collector publishes a list of names of people who are not paying.

When you are in the middle of a debt collection process, you do have the right to hire an attorney. If you hire an attorney, you can tell the debt collectors to direct all communications to your attorney. If the debt collector still continues to contact you after this, he is violating your debt collection rights. After communications are directed to an attorney, debt collection agencies can no longer contact you.

You also have the right to notify the debt collector that you want to continue communications through writing. At that point, he can no longer call you. Instead, everything must be sent to you through the mail.

When a debt collector speaks with you, he has to identify himself as a debt collector. The debt collector also has to mention that he is trying to collect a debt from you. If the debt collector fails to do this, it is considered a violation of your debt collection rights.

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