As a debtor, you should know that it is essential to pay back the debt timely to maintain your credibility and keep the base of professional relations strong in the upcoming time. Apart from the professional, the legal responsibility of payback is also bestowed upon you. Everything can be managed until the harassment angle intervenes.
Sometimes, in unfortunate circumstances, the creditors tend to take a different way and begin harassing the debtors or threatening them now and then and forcing them to repay the debt. If you have taken a debt, things like these can harm you mentally and emotionally. If the situation goes out of your hand, you can witness constant threat calls, among others.
You can be pushed into thinking about whether you have a legal solution for this or not.
Not many of you know that no matter if you have an outstanding amount payable to a creditor, you still have some rights that protect you against harassment. For example, the Federal Trade Commission created the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The act has been initiated to ensure that the customers have the right to sue any creditor category, an individual or a collection agency harassing a person for payment. Cases can also be registered to protect against the unfair practices related to credit collection under various actions as elaborated under the act.
Apart from this, there are other steps that you can take to protect yourself. Here are some things you can do to protect yourself from such situations created by creditors.
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Knowing The Do’s And Don’ts
So, the first thing you should know is that some things will be counted as harassment while others might not fall under this particular head. Here are some things that are counted as harassment, and you, as a debtor, have the right to seek legal remedies against the same.
- No deceit in adding any additional fees or misrepresentation of the debt.
- Calls should be answered between 8 am and 9 pm only, and if any individual or agency contacts you again and again within a day, you can provide them with a written notice to stop such means of harassment.
- There should not be any use of abusive language. They should not threaten you.
- They should not reach out to embarrass or humiliate you at your employment location. Also, you should see that there is no involvement of third parties. Also, you should seek legal solutions if intentional misrepresentations or false information.
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Doing Your Part
When discussing the payment process with the debt collector, you should maintain detailed notes. You should begin taking precautions from your end whenever you feel that the creditors are on the path to harassing you, even if it is in the initial stage. You should ensure an organized file with all the paperwork, like the letters and documents, intact.
The copies should be of both sides, that is, you and the creditor who is harassing you. Also, if you are constantly getting calls, you should keep track of the same and please do not forget the important points over here, like the dates and time of the call. Take a screenshot and try to get your hands on crucial information like the contact information and identification number that will help establish your firmness of harassment in the case.
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Hiring A Legal Representative
Sometimes the absence of a legal professional in the case increases your chances of being abused or harassed. You must reach out to an attorney equipped to handle these issues and with prior experience. You can find here a debt harassment attorney if you cannot get through to someone through your contacts.
You will gain confidence when you get in touch with such professionals that can aid you with immediate assistance. Also, if the harassment degree goes beyond a specific limit, you must take steps to secure your rights at all costs.
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Steps To Be Taken On Your Behalf
Before taking the legal way, you should try and talk to the creditors. Sometimes, creditors make countless calls owing to emergencies on their end. Hence, it should be solved with mutual understanding. But, this might not be the case always.
In other circumstances, creditors begin calling and texting you day and night out of sheer habit. They might have been successful in the past as not many people know that as the payee, you, too, have the right not to be harassed. It is the standard thinking frame that if you have an amount payable, you are at the default, and there is nothing that can protect you from the upcoming scenarios.
However, there are steps for your protection, too. The legal professionals help you send a letter that can update them that you have the right to issue a notice against them. Apart from that, you have the option of seeking redressal by filing complaints in different commissions like the following:
- The trade commissions govern the laws for the collection of debt.
- The office of the legal attorney for seeking the proper legal remedies.
- Bureaus and organizations function to ensure the streamlined functions of a business.
All these will catch the attention of the debt collector. It serves as a caution notice that you are aware of your rights, and they cannot do anything and everything under the sun to get the money without considering your situation. Your attorney is the best person to help you in such cases if you properly report the abuse that you are going through. You have their back in all circumstances.
Conclusion
Financial problems are real and can bring many other issues, but harassment should not be one of them. Hence, if you are subject to such abuse and cruelty, even if you have outstanding payments to be made, you can still choose to move forward with the legal path for the remedies of the wrong that has been done to you.
