Credit Card Collector Abuse
- The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) prohibits debt collection agencies from engaging in abusive debt collection tactics. A few of the methods the FDCPA bans as abusive are: threatening the debtor or his family with violence, using obscene language, publicizing or threatening to publicize the debt the consumer owes and calling the consumer repeatedly with the intent to annoy him into paying the debt.
- The FDCPA is a federal law that applies uniformly to third-party debt collectors in every state. It does not, however, apply to the original creditor. Credit card companies often send unpaid accounts to in-house collection agencies prior to selling them. In-house collection agencies are not bound by the FDCPA's abuse prevention laws.
In the interest of protecting consumers from abuse at the hands of original creditors, some states, such as Pennsylvania, have laws expanding the FDCPA to cover all debt collectors, not just those who purchase debt on the secondary market. - Under the FDCPA, if a consumer notifies a debt collector in writing that it can no longer contact him, the debt collector must immediately stop calling and sending collection letters. The only provision allowed for further contact notes that the company may contact the debtor to notify her that it has received and intends to oblige her request or intends to seek specific action against her -- usually via a lawsuit.
While consumers lack the federal right to force a credit card company to cease all contact, most credit card companies sell unpaid accounts to third-party collectors after no more than 180 days. - The FDCPA's ability to protect consumers is only effective if the credit card collector acknowledges and adheres to the law. Should a credit card collector bound by the FDCPA engage in abusive practices, the debtor reserves the right to file a lawsuit against the company. Through a lawsuit, consumers can force the collection agency to pay compensation for any actual damages the individual suffered as a result of the abuse, along with the consumer's attorney's fees and up to $1,000 for each abusive incident.
