Author: Dan Rafter / Source: Wise Bread
It’s bad enough when debt collectors start calling you, but what if they start hounding your family members, too? Can collection agencies legally do this?
The answer is a bit complicated.
The types of calls that debt collectors can make is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This act provides protection to consumers who owe debts. It says, for instance, that debt collectors can’t threaten you with jail time or call you early in the morning or late at night.
The act also says that collectors can’t call you multiple times a day. The act also regulates the communication that debt collectors can have with your family members. (See also: 5 Things Debt Collectors Don’t Want You to Know)Calling family members
Debt collectors are hired to get you to pay up the money you owe to their clients. To do this, they’ll reach out to you by mail or phone to convince you to come up with the cash. But if debt collectors can’t find you? Then they can contact your family members. In fact, they can contact anyone who knows you, including friends or co-workers.
However, what they can say to these third parties, and how often they can contact them, is extremely limited. The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act states that debt…
The post Debt Collectors Are Calling My Family — Now What? appeared first on FeedBox.