Federal Protection against Unfair Debt Collection Practices, Part Two
Unfair Practices Are Prohibited
Unless the law or your contract with the creditor permits it, a debt collector cannot collect more than the amount you owe on the original debt. He can’t make you pay for collect telephone calls, telegrams, or other hidden charges related to his communication with you.
Postdated checks: A debt collector can’t force you to send a postdated check in order to threaten you or to initiate criminal prosecution. If you do send a postdated check, he can’t deposit it or cash it (or threaten to do so) before the date on the check. In addition, if you send a check that is postdated by more than five days, the debt collector must give you written notice that he will be depositing the check three to ten days before doing so. One executive at a large collection agency suggests consumers who do send postdated checks write in red ink above the date line “VOID UNTIL DATED” as additional protection.
Don’t send a postdated check to a creditor. In many cases, creditors can cash postdated checks without regard to the date. Many issuers receive thousands of payments each week. They are unlikely to catch the fact that a check is postdated, but even if they do, it might be cashed anyway.
Harassment Is Illegal
The following actions are considered harassment or abuse, and collection companies are not allowed to engage in them:
• threatening to use violence or criminal means against you, your family, or property;
• using abusive or obscene language to intimidate or abuse;
• calling you repeatedly on the phone to annoy you;
• calling you and failing to identify themselves;
• publishing a list of “deadbeats.”
Collectors Can’t Use False or Deceptive Collection Methods to Collect a Debt
If a debt collector dressed up as a sheriff and arrived at your door demanding payment (unethical ones might go to those lengths), he would be breaking the law by falsely representing himself. Other false or misleading representations include posing as an attorney; mailing letters that appear to be from an attorney but are not; or using a false name or bogus business name when calling to collect a debt.
It is important to understand that a debt collector can’t threaten legal action that by law he cannot take to collect from you, and he cannot threaten any legal action he doesn’t intend to take. Collectors also can’t threaten you with arrest or falsely accuse you of committing a crime if you don’t pay the debt. They can’t threaten to seize, attach, or sell property, or garnishee your wages, unless they actually intend to do so and have a legal right to do so.
