606. What may creditors do? Fair Debt Collection Act.
Description
This article is from the Credit cards and Consumer Credit FAQ, by adams@spss.com (Steve Adams) with numerous contributions by others.
606. What may creditors do? Fair Debt Collection Act.
Credit-card debt, like any other debt, does not give your creditors
license to harass you. There is a Federal law, the Fair Debt
Collection Practices Act; your state may afford you additional legal
protections. The U.S. Fair Debt Collection Practices Act forbids
these collection actions, among others:
o The use or threat of use of violence or other criminal means to
harm the physical person, reputation or property of any person.
o The use of obscene or profane language or language the natural
consequence of which is to abuse the hearer or reader.
o Causing a telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone
conversation repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy,
abuse, or harass any person at the called number.
o The false representation or implication that the debt collector
is vouched for, bonded by, or affiliated with the United States
or any State, including the use of any badge, uniform, or
facsimile thereof.
o The false representation or implication that any individual is
an attorney or that any communication is from an attorney.
o The representation or implication that nonpayment of any debt
will result in the arrest or imprisonment of any person or the
seizure, garnishment, attachment or sale of any property or
wages of any person, when such action is unlawful or the debt
collector does not intend to take such action.
o The false representation or implication that the consumer
committed any crime or other personal conduct, in order to
disgrace the consumer.
o Communicating or threatening to communicate to any person credit
information which is known or which should be known to be false,
including the failure to communicate that a disputed debt is
disputed.
o The use or distribution of any written communication which
simulates or is falsely represented to be a document authorized,
issued, or approved by any court, official, or agency of the
United States or any State, or which creates a false impression
as to its source, authorization, or approval.
o The false representation or implication that accounts have been
turned over to innocent purchasers for value.
o The false representation or implication that documents are legal
process.
o The false representation or implication that documents are *not*
legal process forms or do not require action by the consumer.
o Communication with debtor at unusual or known-inconvient time or
place.
o Communication with third parties without debtor consent.
o False or Misleading Representations including
+ The threat to take any action that cannot legally be taken
or that is not intended to be taken.
+ Communication or threatening to communicate to any person credit
information which is known or which should be known to be false,
including the failure to communicate that a disputed debt is
disputed.
+ The use or distribution of any written communication which
simulates or is falsesly represented to be a document
authorized, issued, or approved by any court, official, or
agency of the United States or any State, or which creates
a false impression as to its source, authorization, or
approval.
The FRB puts out a free pamphlet titled {The Fair Debt Collection
Practices Act}. For a copy, call (215) 574-6115 or write to Federal
Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Public Information/Publications, P O
Box 66, Philadelphia PA 19105-0066. See part 1 of this FAQ list to
obtain a catalog of FRB publications.
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