When you borrow money using a loan, a credit card, a payday advance, or a mortgage, you are defined as a “debtor”. If the world were perfect, we would be able to pay our debts completely. At some point, most people will fall behind or miss a few payments. If you get too far behind in paying on your debts, you may be sent to collections. Remember that even if you have an account in collections, you are protected by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. It is important to understand the rights and responsibilities that both you and the debt collection agency have.

Responsibilities of the collection agency

There are laws that require a debt collection agency to treat you fairly. This means that agencies cannot contact you before 8 am and after 9 pm. If your employer informs the agency that they cannot contact you at work, they are not allowed to. Debt collectors must be honest about who they are and the money that you owe. The only information a debt collector can ask for from a third party is how to contact you.

Your obligations when you owe debt

You also have responsibilities when you owe money to creditors. It is important to know what amount you owe and to whom. A good place to start is collecting a copy of your credit report. Each year it is your right to receive three copies of your credit report - one from each credit reporting agency. You are responsible for informing collection agencies if you have a lawyer. So you have a written record of all the requests you make, it is best to communicate with debt collectors in writing.

Liberties of the collection agency

It is the job of the debt collection agency to help you pay the debt they believe you owe. They are allowed to call you during reasonable hours. They have the right to contact your lawyer, if you inform them that you have one. Finally, the agency does have the right to file a lawsuit if you are unresponsive to their communications.

The liberties you have as a debtor

You are entitled to complete and accurate information about the money you owe. In addition, you are entitled to be informed of exactly which debt an agency is contacting you about. You also are entitled to dispute any debt that an agency is contacting you about. Within 30 days, you are legally allowed to dispute any debt an agency contacts you about. The agency is then required to verify the name and address of the original creditor as well as the amount they believe you owe. Falling behind on debt can be a depressing situation. If that happens, though, take five minutes to breathe and take stock of the situation - it will help you gain your balance. You have rights and responsibilities, as does the debt collection agency that will be pursuing you.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, February 20th, 2010 at 5:21 pm and is filed under ARM Mortagage, Bankruptcy, Consolodate Mortgage, Credit, Credit report, Debt Consolidation, Debt Relief, Familiy Banking, Hotels, Loans, Mortgage, Personal finance, Reduce Debt, Structured Settlements, Travel Offers, USA Accomodation, Uncategorized, Wealth Building, free 3 credit report. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.