FDCPA Lets You Fight Against Debt Collection Harassment
Thursday, April 30th, 2009Back in 1977 the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act was passed to stop abusive bill collectors from hounding you for money. The FDCPA as it is known was created because bill collectors and collection agencies were notorious for harassing people day and night.
A lot of progress has been made towards stopping unreasonable and unethical debt collection practices, but the practice still goes on - especially in light of the higher debt loads people have assumed in the past decade or so.
A very large collection industry has grown up around our debt culture, so much so that the courts are clogged with thousands of case files. Some of these cases are so old and out-of-date that it is surprising they have not been written off long ago. In today’s world old debts tend to hang around for years, being passed from one collection agency to another.
Thousands of these cases are being entered in the court as default judgments despite the lack of any real proof that the accused person actually owed the debt, or that the amount is correct. In many cases the debtor may not even be the correct person. Imagine being told that you may be taken to court, or that your house will be repossessed, for a debt that isn’t even yours.
If you are having problems with debt collectors, you need to be aware that the FDCPA sets out strict guidelines as to the behavior of debt collectors and collection agencies. Educate yourself about your rights, and fight back against debt collection harassment.