When Debt Collectors Contact Other People About Your Debt

A common practice of creditors, debt collectors and collection agencies trying to collect against you is to contact your friends, family, neighbors and even your employer. In legal terms, these are called “third party contacts.” Debt collectors make third party contacts to harass, embarrass, shame or pressure you into paying. And, most people pay just to get the creditor to stop. This practice, however, often breaks the law and you may be entitled to compensation from that debt collector!The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) controls exactly what a debt collector must and can say when making third party contacts. For each and every contact a debt collector makes to any of your friends, family, neighbors or people are your employment, the FDCPA requires that a debt collector must:

1. Identify themselves, and
2. State that they are confirming or correcting location information.

A debt collector cannot:

1. Say that you, the consumer, owes any debt,
2. Contact a person more than once, unless requested to do so,
3. Use postcards,
4. Use any language or symbol on any communication, including an envelope, that indicates debt collection business,
5. Make any third party contact after knowing you, the consumer, have an attorney, and
6. Contact you at work or your employer if the debt collector knows that your employer prohibits such contact.

 If you or someone you know owes a debt and the debt collector has made third party contacts that are outside of these guidelines, call now for a free consultation with an attorney at Rosenberg Law Group, PLLC!