4 Steps To Report Debt Collection Harassment
Almost everyone has borrowed money at some point. However, once you enter such an arrangement, you need to keep paying until the debt is fully settled.
If you do not keep up with your payments, a creditor can take various actions to get the money back. There are ways of doing this, but there are some things they might do that can be considered harassment.
Below, I will show you what is harassment and what you can do in case a creditor is harassing you for debt.
What Counts as Harassment?
Calling you to ask for the payment, sending reminders, and taking legal action are not considered harassment.
However, persistent calling, calling late at night or early in the morning, contacting your friends and family, making legal threats, lying that they have filed a suit, trying to embarrass you, and threatening you all count as harassment.
The creditor might also try to pressure you into paying, increase your installments, or tell you it is a criminal offense to not pay a debt on time. Also, the creditor cannot claim to work for a court and threaten you that way because that is an offense depending on where you live.
What You Need to Do
1. Complain to a professional body
Owing a creditor some money does not give them or anyone else acting on their behalf the right to harass you.
One action you can take is to complain to a professional body and sue them for damages. Before you do this, you need to find out who is harassing you.
You need to do this because lenders sell debts all the time and the one harassing you might not even be the person who lent you the money.
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2. Collect Evidence
Next, you need to collect evidence. The evidence you need includes all calls and visits with the right times and dates, all documents you have sent to or received from the creditor, and witness statements.
Documentation should not be too hard to collect, especially if they are harassing you persistently.
3. Get Them to Stop
Next, get in touch with the creditor. Let them know harassing you is a criminal offense and how you want them to make contact in the future.
Also, let them know you are ready to take action if they do not stop. Ensure you get any agreements with them in writing.
If they do not respond to you or do not stop, the next step is getting in touch with their professional body. Creditors are supposed to belong to various bodies depending on the country.
4. Call a Lawyer
You can get in touch with a lawyer. If a creditor is harassing you consistently, they may be violating Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). You may be entitled to compensation for damages.
Get in touch with a firm known to handle these types of cases such as the Fair Credit law firm. Give them the evidence, and let them know what is going on. They will take it from there.
Bottom line
Debt collection harassment can be brutal because you will already be under pressure to pay what you owe.
The additional pressure will not do you any good. This is why you need to know what to do in case you are being harassed.
