Search the web for ways to stop illegal collection practices. This is not legal advice. You should consult a lawyer
Dispute inaccurate items with the original creditor ask for proof the bill or account is yours. Credit collection companies such as Portfolio Recovery Associates are not your creditor; you did not sign a contract to pay them back. Report any inaccurate items to the 3 credit reporting agencies. Erroneous items may not continue to be reported if it is an error.
Be careful responding to the Credit collection companies such as Portfolio Recovery Associates. I read about many tactics these companies use to keep the account active with tricks so the statue of limitations does not run out. They will not look at your account to see if the bill is correct, at least not in the initial stages of collection.
The collection letters that you receive are usually computer generated and often do not have a signature on them. The collectors often threaten to report you to the credit reporting agencies and ruin your credit or threaten to sue you for the amount they claim you owe.
Perhaps the most annoying tactic, used by bill collectors, is constant telephone calls demanding money. The collectors often call at work and embarrass you in front of your co-workers. Collectors can not harass you ask them to desist calling you and tell them you have them on speaker phone, then back it up in writing and send it certified mail.
You have legal rights which protect you against all of the above practices. When you get a bill that you feel you do not owe the money, or the amount the bill collector is claiming is incorrect, you should write a letter to both the collection company and the original creditor stating you do not agree you owe the money, or stating the amount owed is incorrect. You should also ask for a record of your payments.
If the bill collectors report the debt to a credit reporting agency, you should write to the credit reporting agency and tell them the bill is in dispute. Whenever you write to a bill collector or to the reporting agency, you should sign the letter, date it, and keep a copy for your own file. Remember, just calling the bill collector to say you do not owe the money may not leave a permanent record of the call. Like most bureaucracies, if it is not in writing, it does not exist.
If the collectors continue to call you, you can send them a cease and desist letter ordering them to cease communication with you under the terms of the Fair Credit Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C.S. Section 1692. When you write your letter, do not forget to date it, sign it, and keep a copy. If you really want them to pay attention, send the letter CERTIFIED.By sending the letter CERTIFIED, you have proof that you sent the letter. If you send this letter, it will not only stop letters to you, but will also stop telephone calls to you. (Fair Credit Collection Practices Act), forbids bill collectors from calling you at inconvenient times, such as before 8:00 A.M. Or after 9:00 P.M., about a bill.
The collectors or agents cannot communicate with third parties such as your neighbor, your friend, or your great aunt Matilda. They cannot contact you at work if they know (notice must be in writing) that your employer prohibits it. They cannot threaten you with criminal prosecution or call you on the phone repeatedly with the intention of harassing you.
Also, the collectors cannot pretend to be someone else just to get in touch with you. They cannot use any false, deceptive, misleading, representation of any means in connection with the collection of your debt. They cannot use or threaten violence.
They cannot use obscene or profane language. They cannot claim that you will be imprisoned or your property seized, unless they are the lender on that property. They cannot pretend to be an attorney, or add fees/charges that are not authorized. They cannot threaten to take any action that cannot legally be taken or that they do not intend to take; they cannot take a post dated check and then deposit it before the date on the check.
All of the above is contained in the Fair Credit Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C.S. Section 1692. If a bill collector violates any of the provisions of the Act, he/she can be sued in court. The credit agency can also be reported to your State or their State especially if they are not authorized to collect in your state.
Outdated information may not be reported.in most cases, a Credit Reporting Agency (Equifax, Transunion, Esperian) may not report derogatory information that is more than seven years old; ten years for bankruptcies. Check your state statures though.
0 comments