Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), debt collectors and credit card companies are debt collectors have strict rules that they must follow when attempting to collect debt. One of the most common complaints we hear is that debt collectors call a workplace trying to collect. They are also fond of calling friends and family trying to track you down in order to harass you about the debt.
If you’ve experienced a debt collector calling you at work – especially after you’ve told them that you cannot receive calls at work or if they’ve contacted someone else about your debt (especially if they disclosed it was about a debt), you should know what your rights are under FDCPA.
Most employers don’t allow personal calls at work – much less harassing calls from debt collectors. In simple language – if you have already told a debt collector that you cannot receive phone calls at work and asked them to stop calling, they cannot continue to call you.
You can notify debt collectors by either telling them yourself that you are not allowed to take collection calls at work. They are also put “on notice” if a co-worker answers the phone and tells them the same thing. If this happens, make sure that you keep a log of the call, time, date, who spoke with them and what was said.
Under FDCPA, if you tell a debt collector to stop calling you at work, they do not have a choice – they have to stop. Under the FDCPA, this is covered under two separate sub-chapters of the FDCPA: “prohibited calls to the workplace” and “calls at an inconvenient or unusual time or place.” If you told a debt collector to stop calling your workplace and they continue to call you, keep good records of the phone calls and contact a consumer law lawyer in Ft Lauderdale to see if you have a lawsuit against them.
Sometimes debt collectors are very aggressive and count on people not knowing their rights under FDCPA. If a debt collector speaks to someone at your work place and reveals your alleged debt, the debt collector may have violated other provisions of FDCPA. A debt collector cannot speak to anyone else at your job about your debt and they can’t leave messages about your debt. If a co-worker tells you that they received a call about your debt, find out everything the debt collector said and add it all to your telephone call log.
Know your rights when it comes to debt collectors and their aggressive tactics. Better yet – get rid of debt collectors altogether! The Bankruptcy Law Firm of Orfelia Mayor can help you achieve the best possible outcome for your situation. But that starts with one of our free consultations at our Cooper City office.
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