Florida Foreclosure Defense Lawyers Blog

The FDCPA is an Act that Congress passed in response to a growing number of abusive collection practices that creditors used to collect consumer debts. The act provides guidelines that creditors must follow when trying to collect debts from consumers. Before mentioning the restrictions that are imposed upon debt collectors, it is important to distinguish whom the Act applies to. The Act applied to debt collectors: any person who regularly collects debts that are owed to others. This also applies to attorney collectors. However, in-house collections are not covered. So if the collection department from your favorite store is contacting you regarding your credit card with them, they are not covered by the FDCPA. (They are governed by the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act.) However, if that same store used an outside collection agency, that agency is governed by the FDCPA.

Some restrictions that the FDCPA puts on debt collectors are:

1. Debt collectors cannot contact a third party who does not owe the debt, such as your employer, relative, or friend.

2. Debt collectors cannot threaten to turn over your account to an attorney, garnish your wages, or repossess your property UNLESS they have an actual intention of doing so.

3. Debt collectors must call between 8am and 9pm, unless you give them permission to do otherwise.

4. Debt collectors cannot use obscenities, insults, or racial slurs.

5. Debt collectors cannot threaten to arrest you if you do not pay the debt.

These are just some of the major rules of the FDCPA, there are many more. If you feel that a creditor has violated this law when trying to collect from you, contact a Jacksonville bankruptcy lawyer today for a consultation.

NO. When you file bankruptcy, an automatic stay is put into place that blocks creditors from trying to collect from you. A creditor cannot call or write you to ask for you to pay a bill and they cannot repossess your property. A Jacksonville bankruptcy attorney can probably get this property back for you. If the creditor knew about the bankruptcy, which is likely, then your bankruptcy attorney can actually sue the creditor for monetary damages due to FDCPA violations.

No, unless your debt was secured by the house. Most all credit card debt is unsecured debt. A creditor cannot take your house for unpaid unsecured debt. If a creditor comes to you later and asks you to sign something that puts your house or car up for collateral for your current credit card debt, DO NOT sign it. If you think that you might want to sign this agreement, at least consult a Jacksonville consumer law attorney first to know your legal rights and the consequences of signing such an agreement.

YES. The creditor is bringing the claim against you and if you do not defend yourself, the judge will very likely issue a default against you. This may be frustrating for you, since you think the debt is no longer valid, but it will be much more frustrating to try and get the default set aside later. The judge probably does not know that you have already paid that debt and the creditor is certainly not going to tell the judge that this debt has already been satisfied. You must go into court and prove that you have paid this debt to get the case dismissed. A Florida consumer law attorney can help you with this representation and often times can appear in court on your behalf.

If you already have a judgment or garnishment, contact a Jacksonville attorney now to find out what your legal options are.