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What is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act? | Missouri Bankruptcy Lawyer

The ‘Fair Debt Collection Practices Act’ may be a term that you’ve heard thrown around when it comes to your creditors. But, what does this term mean to you? Who does it really protect?

The FDCPA is part of the Consumer Credit Protection Act. It is designed to keep certain types of creditors from using abusive means to collect debts and it give consumers the right to dispute or at least question the validity of a debt. The law applies to third party creditors, like a debt collection agency that has purchased a debt. Unfortunately, an original creditor (the company with whom you originally incurred the debt) isn’t covered. The FDCPA also only applies to personal loans so any debts incurred by a business or by an individual for a business are not covered.

So, how does the FDCPA help you? Here are a few highlights that may help you right now:

• Phone calls should only be made between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.
• Collectors can’t call someone at work after they have been made aware that it is inappropriate or prohibited.
• Collectors can’t contact someone known to be represented by an attorney.
• Collectors can’t use abusive or profane language while talking to you about your debt.
• Collectors can’t report misinformation to the credit bureau or threaten to do so.
• Collectors can’t take or threaten to take legal action when it isn’t permitted or isn’t being contemplated.
• Collectors can’t reveal your debt information to a third party. This doesn’t include your spouse or your attorney.

So, will these laws protect you? The answer is - maybe. While many collectors violate the FDCPA, they know it will be time consuming and costly for you to take action against them. They do not, however, feel the same way about a St. Louis bankruptcy attorney.

There are a number of strict rules that prevent creditors from contacting you in any way if you’ve retained an Illinois or Missouri bankruptcy lawyer. Plus, if you’ve found a really great bankruptcy attorney, he or she may have some methods of making sure creditors follow those rules, like our creditor help line.

Wondering what else a St. Louis bankruptcy attorney could do for you? Request a free copy of my Illinois and Missouri bankruptcy book, “Get Out of Debt: Secrets Your Creditors Don’t Want You to Know,” to find out more.

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