Just because your debts are piling up for various reasons doesn’t give your creditors the right to get impatient or harass you. A lawyer specializing in Fair Credit knows that when you are dealing with creditors, you have rights. These include receiving notifications in writing and being scored honestly and fairly. Additionally, you have the right to respect creditors.
Rights When Dealing with Creditors
Creditors and collection agencies must adhere to acceptable limitations. They cannot show up at your door at any hour, and they must have court authorization before seizing your wages or assets. Your rights include:
#1. The Right to be Warned
If you are late with one of your payments, the creditor needs to notify you in writing that you have 30 days to pay the money you own. After the 30-day period, the creditor can institute legal proceedings and get a court judgment. This will allow them to call a collection agency to recover their money or eventually have the assets sold.
#2. The Right to be Informed
It’s not easy to calculate the remaining debt you owe to a creditor. So, you have the right to ask for a payoff statement from your creditor or a collection agency. Moreover, they must provide proof of every payment you make, and all your requests should be free.
#3. The Right of Not Being Harassed
It’s fair to say that being in debt can make you vulnerable. As a result, creditors may try to take advantage of you, but there are limits they must respect. Creditors and collection agencies are prohibited from calling you without first sending you written notice. Except for some rare situations, they are prohibited from contacting your friends, family, or employer. Additionally, it is forbidden to call you at unreasonable hours or to harass, intimidate, and threaten you.
#4. The Right to Transparency
When a creditor or collection agent tries to contact you, they must adhere to specific rules. They need to identify themselves and give you a permit number. They cannot provide misleading or false information, cannot ask you to pay fees, and cannot ask for your family to repay your debts unless they co-signed your loan.
#5. The Right to Keeping Essential Assets
If you are concerned about them seizing your essential property, you can rest easy. Your essential assets (clothing, furniture, work tools) and specific sources of income (pension funds, RRSPs) are safe.
What To Do If Your Rights Haven’t Been Respected?
If you consider your rights to have been violated, you can start by asking your creditor to stop contacting you in writing. The phone calls should stop, but the creditor will continue the collection efforts. An ideal solution is to seek help from an attorney specializing in Fair Credit cases. You can tell your creditor or debt collector to contact your credit attorney, and they have to comply with your request.
While most creditors and collection agencies will try various tactics to encourage you to pay your bills through harassment, they are bound by specific regulations and laws. If you think your creditors’ actions are illegal or you are being harassed, get in touch with an attorney specializing in debt, bankruptcy, and FCRA.
Veeramachineni Lalitha
I am Finance Content Writer. I write Personal Finance, banking, investment, and insurance related content for top clients including Kotak Mahindra Bank, Edelweiss, ICICI BANK and IDFC FIRST Bank. My experience details : Linkedin