One illegal debt collection practice that is very common is the embarrassing tactic of calling a debtor’s family, friends, colleagues and neighbors. Collection laws clearly regulate a collection agency’s interaction with third parties.
If a debt collection agency contacts your acquaintances, you need to know that these tactics are illegal under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act:
- The debt collector failed to identify themselves to the third party
- They failed to state that they are confirming or correcting location information
- They stated that the consumer owes a debt
- They contacted the third party more than once without permission
- They used a postcard
- They sent a letter with the debt collection agency identified on the envelope
- They contacted the third party after the consumer obtained the services of an attorney
The internet makes it very easy for debt collectors to find someone’s relatives, and neighbors. Debt collectors contact neighbors to shame and embarrass the person they’re after. Contacting family members, parents and grandparents are common tactics, because they can often scare them into paying off their relatives debts – something that relatives are not obligated to do by law. They’ll threaten to throw their family member in jail, go to their house, garnish their wages, and often worse. Often they call a spouse’s place of employment and speak to their boss and colleagues, which is not just embarrassing, but can lead to the spouse’s termination.
If debt collectors are making third party calls to embarrass or threaten you into paying, or if you are the third party being hounded for a debt that isn’t yours, you have recourse under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
