Getting out of Debt

Your rights and the FDCPA

Credit card debt, like any other debt, does not give your creditors license to harass you. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a federal law that protects you.

The U.S. Fair Debt Collection Practices Act forbids collectors from:

• The use (or threat of use) of violence or other criminal means to harm the physical person, reputation, or property of any person.
• The use of obscene, profane or abusive language.
• Causing a telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass any person at the called number.
• The false representation or implication that the debt collector is vouched for, bonded by, or affiliated with the United States or any state, including the use of any badge, uniform, or facsimile thereof.
• The false representation or implication that any individual is an attorney or that any communication is from an attorney.
• The representation or implication that nonpayment of any debt will result in the arrest or imprisonment of any person or the seizure, garnishment, attachment, or sale of any property or wages of any person, when such action is unlawful or the debt collector does not intend to take such action.
• The false representation or implication that the consumer committed any crime or other personal conduct in order to disgrace the consumer. Communicating (or threatening to communicate) credit information to any person which is known (or should be known) to be false, including the failure to communicate that a disputed debt is disputed.
• The use or distribution of any written communication which simulates or is falsely represented to be a document authorized, issued, or approved by any court, official, or agency of the United States or any state, or which creates a false impression as to its source, authorization, or approval.
• The false representation or implication that accounts have been turned over to innocent purchasers for value. The false representation or implication that documents are legal process. The false representation or implication that documents are not legal process forms or do not require action by the consumer.
• Communication with debtor at unusual (or known-inconvenient) times or places.
• Communication with third parties without debtor consent.

The FRB puts out a free pamphlet titled "The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act." For a copy, call (215) 574-6115 or write the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Public Information/Publications, P O Box 66, Philadelphia PA 19105-0066.

Your state may afford additional legal protections.