Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Indiana

Re: Debt Collector crossing lines

Every collection company and their employees must comply with the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA). This act prohibits certain kinds of activity, such as the collection person having to identify themsleves when calling, not using profanity, and not calling in the wee morning hours and not calling late at night, and not making repetitive phone calls to harrass the debtor.

The FDCPA also requires collection agencies to adhere to certain guidelines when writing the debtor. For instance the Act prohibits the collection agency from including conflicting information or information that would confuse an "unsophisticated consumer." An example of this would be stating that the debtor has 10 days to pay the amount and also stating that the FDCPA allows the debtor to dispute the debt in writing within 30 days of the written communication. These two provisions would be in conflict, since one says 10 days and the other says 30 days.

Also, a collection agent cannot call you at your job if you have told them not to do so. This is a direct violation of the Act and the collection agency could be liable for statutory damages. Since most debtors do not suffer monetary damages from collection companies (that is, nothing has been damaged), the statute provides for statutory penalties plus reimbursement of attorney fees.

It sounds like you have a case against the collecting agency and I would see an attorney who is knowledgeable about the FDCPA. The suits are usually filed in the federal district court where the debtor lives, and most often they are settled out of court.

good luck