Creditors will often take aggressive actions when attempting to collect on a debt. The attorneys at the Heritage Law Group not only defend individuals and families against debt collection lawsuits, we also specialize in protecting our clients from all types of unfair and deceptive debt collection practices that violate both state and federal consumer protection statutes, such as the Florida Consumer Protection Practices Act (FCCPA) and the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”).
What is Creditor Harassment?
Creditors will often take aggressive and illegal actions when attempting to collect on a debt. This can include making repeated phone calls, sending numerous letters, sending false and deceptive information to you, improperly filing a time-barred lawsuit beyond the statute of limitations, and unlawfully reporting negative information to credit bureaus.
Creditors are required to follow certain state and federal consumer protection laws enacted to protect consumers against unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices, including the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Florida Consumer Protection Practices Act (FCCPA). Congress, in enacting the FDCPA, found that, “There is abundant evidence of the use of abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices by many debt collectors”, and that, “Abusive debt collection practices contribute to the number of personal bankruptcies, to marital instability, to the loss of jobs, and to invasions of individual privacy”.
These acts prohibit abusive collection behavior such as:
- Claiming, attempting, or threatening to enforce a debt when the debt is not legitimate, or asserting the existence of some other legal right when that right does not exist
- The use of slurs, foul or other derogatory language
- Providing false, deceptive, and misleading information
- Threatening legal action if no such action is planned
- Making calls before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m.
- Make more than 7 calls within one week
- Calling within one week after communicating with the consumer about the debt
Additionally, creditors and debt collectors must also follow the credit reporting requirements found in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), which includes due diligence when a dispute is submitted. Creditors and debt collectors often violate the FCRA by validating inaccurate information that was disputed by the consumer.
If a creditor or debt collector commits a violation of the FDCPA, FCCPA, or FCRA they can be held liable to the consumer for actual damages, attorneys' fees, and costs.
What should I do if I am being harassed?
If you believe a creditor is harassing you, the best thing to do to preserve your rights is to keep a record of all interactions and communications.
- Keep any letters, notices, or written communication the creditor may send to you.
- When a creditor calls, make a note of the time, date, the name of the person you speak with, the company they work for, the account they are calling about, and document what they say to you in the telephone call. Attorneys may be able to use this information to pursue a creditor harassment case on your behalf.
How can an attorney from the Heritage Law Group help me?
Attorneys can usually provide the fastest and most effective means to either end the harassment or recover damages on your behalf. The Heritage Law Group attorneys will review the actions taken against you, make sure that you understand your rights and the options available to protect those rights, and, if warranted, bring actions for damages against debt collectors for violating the consumer protection laws.
How much does it cost to hire a creditor harassment attorney from the Heritage Law Group?
If you are hiring an attorney from the Heritage Law Group to bring an action against a creditor or debt collector for violations of the state or federal consumer protection laws, there are no fees or costs to you for retaining a creditor harassment attorney from our firm for seeking damages against a debt collector in a creditor harassment or abuse case, unless we win your case
We don't get paid unless you win on claims we file for violations of the state or federal consumer protection laws. Creditors are also required to pay our attorneys' fees in addition to the consumer's damages when they violate the FDCPA, FCCPA, or FCRA.
Have you been sued by a debt collector?
If you have been sued by a debt collector to collect a debt, we may also be able to defend the case on your behalf, and prevail against a debt collector so that you owe nothing to the debt collector, or, in some cases, settle the debt for less than the amount claimed, with either no fees or costs from you, or, in certain types of cases, with no fees or costs from you, unless we win your case. Click here to schedule a free consultation by phone or in office or call us today @ (813) 655-1801
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