The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) provides debtors with the right to stop unwanted calls and communications from debt collectors. These provisions provide protection for ordinary consumers from collection abuse and collection harassment from over-zealous debt collectors. But for most law-abiding debt collectors, you will not need help from an attorney or any specialized training. There are four specific remedies that you can invoke without help from an attorney:

First, all you need to do is ask. Let the debt collector know that the calls are inconvenient and to please stop calling you. The FDCPA prohibits a collector from calling if you tell them that the calls are inconvenient.

Second, if you are willing to speak with the debt collector, but only wish to do so at specific times and places, the law provides debtors with that right as well. You may inform the debt collector of how, when and where you will allow them to contact you. Again, the debt collector must honor these requests.

Third, if your employer does not allow you to take calls from collectors at work, you can inform the debt collector of this fact, and the debt collector may not call you at work again.

Fourth, if you send the debt collector a written request to cease calling or to cease all communications with you, the debt collector must honor that request (with some limited exceptions). With limited exceptions, a written request to cease communications will stop not only phone calls, but written communications as well.

None of these remedies requires anything more than informing the debt collector of how, when and where you would like to be contacted. No attorney is needed.

In spite of these well-established rights, some collectors choose to ignore the law, particularly when they believe that the consumer does not know their rights, or have the ability to prove that the collector has violated he law. As such, your attempts to assert your rights are only as good as your ability to prove that you have done so. So, if you want to tell a debt collector to stop the calls, you should keep a record of your contacts with that collector and what you told them.

Our firm also provides a convenient call log sheet, and a sample Cease Calling letter to get you started.  Make a folder at home to keep these papers. Also send your request to the debt collector in writing by certified mail. By committing all your requests to writing, you not only create an evidence trail, you are also letting the collector know that you understand how important that evidence is. If the debt collector does not comply with your request to cease calling, you will have a complete file and paper trail to hand over to your attorney.

Finally, retaining an attorney for help with debt collection affords you benefits. Once you involve an attorney, the attorney becomes the mandated intermediary for the debt collector. That means the debt collector is now required by law to contact your attorney instead of you – and indeed the debt collector gets himself in even more trouble if he continues to contact you directly. This fact provides consumers with yet another way to stop the calls from the debt collector.

Additionally, retaining an attorney puts the debt collector on notice that you know your rights and are prepared to enforce them. The FDCPA provides for attorney’s fees to be paid by the defendant in the event that litigation is needed, so you should not need to pay any up-front fees. (see our article on how to pick an attorney). If all other means to stop the calls has failed, a law suit will almost always provide the incentive that a rogue debt collector needs.

In addition to these limitations, another federal law (the Telephone Consumer Protection Act or “TCPA”) prohibits collectors from calling you on your cell phone with an auto-dialer unless you have affirmatively consented to the calls.

Collection abuse and collection harassment are illegal. Speak with an experienced consumer rights attorney as soon as a debt collector begins harassing you.

If you live in Michigan and want help from a consumer attorney, call us at (877) 783-4228.

For our readers outside of our Michigan service area, we suggest that you visit the National Association of Consumer Advocates’ Find an Attorney service, or contacting your state’s bar’s lawyer referral service.

Below, we have provided some more resources that you may use to educate yourself and share with the people you care about.

-Stop Calls and Letters from a Debt Collector

http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0289-stop-calls-and-letters-debt-collector

-New ways to combat harmful debt collection practices:

http://www.consumerfinance.gov/blog/debtcollection/

-CFPB: How to respond to a debt collector.

http://www.consumerfinance.gov/askcfpb/1695/ive-been-contacted-debt-collector-and-need-help-responding-how-do-i-reply.html

-CFPB Bulletin to Debt Collectors:

http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201307_cfpb_bulletin_collections-consumer-credit.pdf

If you need help with these or other consumer rights issues, give us a call at (248) 208-8864 or visit us at www.MichiganConsumerLaw.com

How to Pick a Consumer Lawyer

When we cannot take care of ourselves, those we chose to work on our behalf can have a profound effect on our quality of life. Their skills, resources, passion and dedication, are the difference between success and failure. These same attributes may also determine how well we weather the process of getting to that result. This is just as true for lawyers as it is for any other professional. When dealing with a consumer protection problem, the most important decision you can make is choosing who will help you.

Consumer law is its own area of practice. The attorney must specialize in your area of concern. Not only must the attorney have the requisite knowledge and experience, but the attorney must have demonstrated his or her efficacy over and over again. In the simplest terms: the attorney you select has got to have street cred. Beyond diplomas on the wall, what has your potential attorney proven themselves capable of accomplishing?

Some attorneys are generalists. You have probably seen their advertisements on television or billboards. These are often enormous law firms, with dozens or sometimes hundreds of attorneys. Though they have popular name recognition, the attorney assigned to your matter will almost certainly not be the marquee name. On the other hand, some attorneys are specialists. Though there are exceptions, many come from smaller law firms, and even if their names do not appear on television, they may be well-known to the judges, lawyers, and regulatory industries that matter to you.

A poor choice of attorney is someone who moves a high volume of cases in order to collect the basic lawyer fees, akin to flipping burgers for an hourly wage. Or, an attorney who strips the equity from a case by failing to put in the appropriate time and effort. And the worst choice would be an attorney who attempts to milk the file for all it is worth, asking for more fees all along the way, all the while postponing any actual resolution.

The right attorney has passion for their work, and compassion for your situation. The right attorney is going to put their heart and soul into navigating the legal system efficiently on your behalf. They should listen well as you explain your matter, learn the details of your case, and employ clear, well-structured arguments as your case moves forward, problem-solving all along the way.

When it comes to consumer law, the right attorney means the difference between years of frustration or the peace of mind knowing your matter is in the right hands. That choice means the difference between coming away empty-handed or coming away with a decision or settlement that eases your mind, knowing justice has won the day.  Find an attorney whose experience and credentials demonstrate that he or she will be able to provide exactly what you need.

Here are some resources to get you started. Happy hunting!

National Associate of Consumer Advocates http://www.naca.net/find-attorney

Avvo http://www.avvo.com/find-a-lawyer

 

If you need help with these or other consumer rights issues, give us a call at (248) 208-8864 or visit us at www.MichiganConsumerLaw.com