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What to Do if You Need to Sue a Debt Collector

View PDF | Print View | Html View Written by: Sean Payne
Total views: 17 | Word Count: 565 | Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2009 | 0 comments

If you're in debt, you may be worried about getting sued by a debt collector for not paying your debt. But did you know that there are several instances in which you can legally sue them instead?

With the caveat that I'm not a lawyer, and am not giving any legal advice to you, here are the facts:

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, outlines specific behaviors in which debt collectors are forbidden to engage. According to this law, if a collector does engage in these forbidden practices, you may have the right to sue them in a state or Federal court.

So, what debt collection practices are debt collectors forbidden to engage in?

The first, and most common, is harassment. Under the FDCPA, harassment means use of "threats of violence or harm", using obscene language, or annoying someone through repeated use of the telephone.

The second of these forbidden practices is making false statements. Under the FDCPA, debt collectors are forbidden from lying to collect on a debt. Some examples of making false statements include lying about how much you owe, falsely representing themselves as attorneys or government agents, or telling you that your non-payment of debt makes you a criminal. Collections agents have a sordid history of telling people whatever they have to in order to collect money. This includes telling blatant lies and other falsehoods.

Debt collectors are also not allowed to publicize the fact that you owe money on a debt. This means they cannot contact other people about your debt, contact you via postcard (since the contents of a postcard can be seen by anyone), or publish your name on a list of people who have outstanding debts. The only time they can contact other people about a debt you owe is to discover your address, telephone number, or place of employment.

So, what are the consequences if a debt collector does break the rules and engage in one of these forbidden practices?

Your first action should be to inform them that you are aware of your rights under the FDCPA, and that they must cease their illegal actions. Most of the time, this will resolve the problem without you having to resort to legal action.

If that doesn't do the trick, however, you still have up to a year from the time they violated the FDCPA to sue the debt collector in state or Federal court. You are allowed to sue them for any demonstrable damages that you suffered because of their illegal practices, such as lost wages or medical bills.

Even if it's not possible for you to prove that they caused actual damages, the judge can still force them to pay you as much as $1,000. The judge can also make them pay you for any attorney's fees that you incurred.

Keep in mind that just because the debt collector violated the law in trying to collect your debt, the debt does not just disappear if you actually owe it. Their violation of the law only entitles you to sue them under the FDCPA.

Be aware of the law, and your legal rights. If anyone breaks the law and violates your rights, be sure to use the law to protect your rights.

About the Author

Sean Payne has learned from the school of hard knocks about getting out of debt. After getting out of debt himself, he spent over a decade developing an effective strategy for getting out of debt. Check out Sean's fascinating e-course about how to sue debt collectors and get out of debt, quickly and easily.