Business Law - Debt Collection
Did You Know?
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Debt Collection Lawyers know all aspects of protecting Creditors Rights and can act quickly and aggressively. Debt collection matters involving accounts where debtors are either unwilling or unable to pay and have no reasonable justification for non-payment are pushed to final resolution as quickly as possible.
Within five days after you are first contacted, the collector must send you a written notice telling you the amount of money you owe; the name of the creditor to whom you owe the money; and what action to take if you believe you do not owe the money.
- Debt Collection Lawyers can help with the following:
- Preliminary investigation of debtor
- Pre-litigation workup to determine suit viability
- Direct collection contact calls
- Emergency motion to freeze assets
- Help with the entire collection process
- Fully integrated call/letter program
- Investigate and locate assets to satisfy your judgment.
- File suit to protect your position and preserve assets
- Contacts the debtor with a formal demand for payment
- Help with receivables throughout the collection cycle, from pre-collection activities through litigation
- Full Litigation including Liens, Judgments and Judgment/Post Judgment remedies
If you have an attorney, the debt collector must contact the attorney, rather than you. If you do not have an attorney, a collector may contact other people, but only to find out where you live, what your phone number is, and where you work. Collectors usually are prohibited from contacting such third parties more than once. In most cases, the collector may not tell anyone other than you and your attorney that you owe money.
What type of Debt Collection Practices are Prohibited by Law?
Prohibited behaviors include:
- Harassment
- False statements
- Use threats of violence or harm
- Publish a list of consumers who refuse to pay their debts (except to a credit bureau)
- Use obscene or profane language
- Repeatedly use the telephone to annoy someone.
- Falsely imply that they are attorneys or government representatives
- Falsely imply that you have committed a crime
- Falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit bureau
- Misrepresent the amount of your debt
- Indicate that papers being sent to you are legal forms when they are not
- Indicate that papers being sent to you are not legal forms when they are
- State you will be arrested if you do not pay your debt
- State they will seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages, unless the collection agency or creditor intends to do so, and it is legal to do so
- State actions, such as a lawsuit, will be taken against you, when such action legally may not be taken, or when they do not intend to take such action
- Give false credit information about you to anyone, including a credit bureau
- Deposit a post-dated check prematurely
- Use deception to make you accept collect calls or pay for telegrams
The longer a debt remains unpaid, the greater the chance that it will never be paid.
There are also several things a collection agency must do once it has contacted a debtor. The collection agency must disclose:
- The amount of the debt
- The name of the creditor
- The timeframe in which the debtor can dispute the amount owed
Wrestling with debtors can often be a tiresome and tedious task for you. The headache and financial burden of collecting on defaulted bills can be avoided with an effective debt collection system. Lawyers who specialize in debt collection can be more effective than a collection agency, especially if the debt is serious enough to consider legal action.
CONTACT A DEBT COLLECTION ATTORNEY IN YOUR AREA
If you are in need of legal advice or services, or simply wish to speak to an attorney who has successfully handled Debt Collections in your state, you may use this Free Online Consultation Form.
There is NO COST or obligation for this service.
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