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One Temporary Way to Get Debt Collectors Off Your Back

The Castle Law Office has dedicated its practice to helping those in the St. Louis area who are suffering under the weight of debt get a new start. We have helped thousands of people all over Missouri and Illinois get through Chapter 7 and Chapter 13, and we have often been able to do so while helping them keep their homes and other property. If you or a loved one is dealing with debt, bill collector harassment and the threat of repossession and foreclosure, contact the Castle Law Office for a free legal consultation today.

They’re relentless, aren’t they?

They call, e-mail and send letters constantly. They ask in stern voices whether or not you intend to pay. They threaten to take you to court. A pack of bill collectors going full throttle is enough to drive anyone crazy.

What is normally so crazy about these bill collectors is that most of the time they aren’t even directly related to the credit card company, or the bank, or the department store that you owe money to. If a bill collector is involved, that normally means that the company or institution that you initially gave up your debt to has given up on you and has sold your debt to one of these bill collectors at a fraction of the price. What this means is that the bill collectors stand to make a great deal of money if they can get you to pay their debt off. And since they exist only to collect money and don’t have to worry about customer service or repeat customers, they can be as rude and pushy as they want.

But as trying as these folks can be, believe it or not, they can only be rude and pushy up to a point. Being in debt does not make you a criminal or subhuman, and it certainly does not make you exempt from your rights as a citizen. In fact, there is very specific protection under the law that keeps debt collectors from going over the line. If you find yourself harassed by debt collectors, take a look at the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to make sure that the collectors are acting within the rules.

What the FDCPA does is protect people from overzealous collection tactics.

For instance, debt collectors are not allowed to give you wake up calls first thing in the morning, nor are they allowed to call you in the middle of the night. They can’t contact you before 8 AM or after 9 PM unless you agree to being contacted during those times, and who in their right minds would agree to that? Nor can debt collectors call you at work if they know that your boss doesn’t approve of the calls.

In fact, debt collectors are supposed to stop contacting you altogether if you simply send them a letter that asks them to stop.

There are also rules that prevent them from badgering your friends and relatives. This is a tactic that is used by collection agencies as a way to shame people in debt into paying faster. But according to FDCPA, third party collection agencies are only allowed to get in touch with these people in order to find out where you are. They aren’t allowed to tell your friends or relatives that you owe money.

All of this is completely true. It is possible for you to get collection agencies to stop harassing you. But what the FDCPA doesn’t do is make the debt go away. The only way to make a debt disappear is to either pay it off or to qualify for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

This is where the Castle Law Office comes in.

It is our job to help you figure out a way to get your life back on track. We help people in and around St. Louis successfully file for Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy, and we also help them adjust to life after the bankruptcy occurs.

If you or a loved one in or around St. Louis is having real problems with debt, contact the Castle Law Group for a free legal consultation today.

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