There are really 3 main laws that regulate debt collection. You have the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (known as FDCPA), which is a federal law. You also have the Texas Debt Collections Act (known as TDCA or TDCPA), which is a Texas law. In addition there are Fair Credit Reporting laws that come into play as well.
Creditors can sometimes violate both the FDCPA and the TDCPA and oftentimes, when they violate one, they violate the other.
Examples of Creditor Harassment
Debt Collectors rely on fear to get you to pay. They make threats, they bombard you with calls, and they try to make you feel horrible about yourself. Everything they do is calculated to get you to pay them something. They could care less about your life or what you have been through.
However, they also have to follow the law and oftentimes, they don’t. The reason they don’t follow the law in some instances is that they know most consumers are in a financially fragile state and are unlikely to hire a lawyer to help themselves.
1. Call you before 8am.
2. Call you after 9pm.
3. Call your work.
4. Call you if you have hired a lawyer.
5. They cannot harass, oppress or abuse you by making threats or using obscene language.
6. They cannot simply call you over and over again as this would be harassment.
7. They cannot use false or misleading statements, such as (we are going to refer this to attorney general as a criminal case).
8. They cannot threaten to seize, garnish or go after your property
9. If you write them a letter and tell them to stop contacting you, then they cannot call you or contact, they can however sue you.
If you want to discuss your financial situation in more detail you can call 469-607-8552 or fill out our online contact form and set up your free financial strategy session (30 minutes). Also, if you decide to hire my law firm and mention this blog, you will receive a 10% discount on your fees.