California law provides consumer protection against unfair, deceptive and/or abusive debt collectors and illegal debt collection techniques and practices. If a debt collector threatens violence or even suggests that bad things will happen to you if you don’t pay a particular debt, they are breaking the law. In fact, in California that is considered a criminal act and the authorities will prosecute you.
If you, as a consumer, feel that you are being harassed, you can ask the debt collector to stop calling or contacting you. You have that right and they must comply, and not contact you again except through a court order or legal subpoena.
Specifically, a debt collector cannot swear at you on the phone or call you four letter words. They can’t threaten to ‘sue’ you if you don’t pay a bill. They may tell you that they will have to take other legal action or file a lawsuit in small claims or other court to find another way to collect the debt. They cannot threaten to take legal action against you that they do not really intend to take.
Debt collectors may not make false and misleading statements. They are not allowed to lie about the debt or fail to tell you that the reason for the contact is about the debt. They are not allowed to call for information posing as a customer, job applicant, supplier or government agency. They may not use logos or similar-looking identifications that imitate a court, government agency, credit reporting company, or law firm. All of these types of cheating are unlawful behaviors, they are illegal in the State of California.
If they make repeated phone calls over a short period of time hoping to harass and exhaust you into agreeing to pay just to stop the harassment, you can tell them to stop calling. If they don’t stop calling, you should report them. Debt collectors can’t call in the wee hours of the night, they can only call between 8am and 9pm. You can also ask them to call you at a certain time or specific times that are more appropriate and they must comply.
If a debt collector contacts you at work and you ask them not to contact you at work, they must comply. It would be wise to send this in writing so that you have a paper record if you think this debt problem will one day end up in court. You can ask a debt collector to stop contacting everyone together and having that in writing sure helps. You can also put them on notice. Failure to comply could mean heavy fines or the revocation of your debt collection license.
As a consumer you have rights, in California those rights will be enforced by the authorities, and the debt collection industry knows it.
If you are disputing a debt. Make your dispute known in advance and in writing. It will help you later in case the dispute ends up in court, or in case you later want to eliminate errors in your credit score. Having a paper trail is important in all disputed debt matters. It is also important to know your rights as a consumer. Above all, it is important to have a competent attorney on your side if things seem to be getting out of hand.
