Fair Debt Collection Practices Act: What You Need to Know

You’ve heard of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, but do you completely understand what it entails? Here’s everything you need to know. Feeling powerless when you are up against the endless barrage of letters, phone calls, and voice mails from debt collectors and creditors can make anyone want to scream. Sadly, this way of life has become the norm for many people living in Nevada and other Americans as well. 

However, what you may not know is that not every debt collection tactic they use upon you, is legal. Consumers do not know this many time. You are not helpless when it comes to these unlawful tactics the debt collectors will use. There a federal and Nevada laws that will protect you the consumer against the unfair debt collection practices. 

However, one thing you will want to keep in mind that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, that will prohibit many abusive and predatory debt collection tactics and puts down guidelines that all bet collectors are supposed to follow by law. 

What Is Not Allowed Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act? 

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act states that the debt collectors are not prohibited to engage in any debt collection tactics that may abuse or harass the consumer. Essentially, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act does not allow the debt collectors to use any misleading, deceptive, or false behavior with you the consumer when trying to collect a debt. 

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act will prohibit and identify many of the common shady debt collection practices. Some of the commonly identified abusive, borderline harassment practices that are NOT allowed under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is outlined below: 

  • Debt collectors cannot threat of use, threat of violence, or other criminal behavior that will bring harm to the person’s property or reputation. 
  • Debt collectors cannot the use of profane or obscene language, or language that would abuse the reader or hearer. 
  • Debt collectors cannot make any publication of all consumers who refuse to pay their debts. 
  • Debt collectors cannot advertise to sell any of your debt to coerce you the consumer into paying it. 
  • Debt collectors cannot continuously or repeatedly engage in phone conversations that will abuse, annoy, or harass you. 
  • Debt collectors cannot call you without presenting the disclosure of the caller’s identity. 

Along with prohibiting the abusive behaviors from the debt collectors, are also not allowed to engage in the follow misleading or false actions while under the Fair Debt Collectors Practices Act:

  • Debt collectors cannot falsely represent the character, status, amount of the debt. 
  • Debt collectors cannot falsely represent that the consumer is an attorney or in communication with an attorney. 
  • Debt collectors cannot threaten to act against you the consumer, that is not legal or that is not actually going to be taken. 
  • Debt collectors cannot represent or even imply that if the consumer does not pay a debt, it will result in either getting arrested or imprisonment. 
  • Debt collectors cannot represent or even imply that if you the consumer does not pay a debt, that it will result in seizure, garnishment, or sale of wages or property unless the action is under lawful pretenses. 
  • Debt collectors cannot falsely imply or represent that you the consumer has committed a crime or another disorderly conduct in order to pay the debt. 
  • Debt collectors cannot threaten to communicate, any of the consumers credit information that is known or should be known as false. 
  • Debt collectors cannot falsely represent or be deceptive in order to attempt to collect or collect a debt. 
  • Debt collectors cannot use any company, business, or even organization name other than their debt collector’s organization, business, or company name. 

Alongside with prohibiting misleading or false debt collection methods, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act also climates many other unfair practices when it comes to collecting a debt. Some more examples of these unfair practices that are banned by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act include the following: 

  • Debt collectors cannot collect an amount that is different from the authorized amount that is agreed upon with you the consumer. 
  • Debt collectors cannot solicit a post-dated check for the sole purpose of instigating or threatening any sort of criminal prosecution. 
  • Debt collectors cannot threaten to deposit or deposit the post-dated check or any other post-dated payment prior to the date on such payment method. 

What to Do If A Debt Collector Practices These Unfair Collection Practices?

For you the consumer, you would like to know that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act will compose a civil cause of action that is subjected to deceptive, abusive, or even unfair collection methods. 

So, under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, all debt collectors who violate the terms in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act will be liable for said actions in a civil suit. However, for you the consumer, you may be able to collect some of the damages that the debt collectors violate. These include the following: 

  • Recovery of any garnished wages
  • Money for emotional distress
  • Money for physical distress
  • Up to $1,000 for statutory damages

You will want to keep in mind that proving you were a victim of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is very difficult. However, even if you can somehow manage to prove that you were a victim, you will still need to prove that you are entitled to receive some sort of compensation for either your emotional, financial, or physical harm that you may have suffered. This is where you should find a Nevada attorney near me to help you navigate this the correct way.