Credit Repair Laws - What You Need to Know
There are certain laws issued for people that have bad credit called Credit
Repair Laws and to know these laws is to protect all those involved in
your life. The Federal Legislation along with the Fair Credit Reporting
Act (FCRA) protect you from collection agencies and creditors. If you have bad
credit be sure to read this article on Credit Repair laws; especially if you are
being harassed by creditors.
First, let’s look the steps debtors can take to protect their status.
Debtors, meaning you, have the right to ask collection agencies or any other
source harassing them for debt collection to stop. Credit repair laws were
created to protect you, so be sure you know how to use them to your advantage.
Read on.
Credit repair laws are very clear that you must contact the collection
agencies immediately and request that they cease communication with you
completely. Word your letter wisely and avoid giving them ammunition against
you. You can do this if your collection agency has claimed a lawsuit against
you, or if the date has ended, where the creditors can no longer contact you. If
a collection agency has written to you several letters or made several phone
calls threatening a lawsuit, you can write an informal letter asking the
agencies to stop.
Now if you do have a current debt, it would be wise to negotiate with your
creditors. Some may drop the debt completely or at least reduce your balance. It
is important that you DO NOT try to communicate with a collection agency
regarding a debt older than seven years. After seven-years, the account should
have been removed from your credit report. If not, they are in violation.
For several reasons creditors will disregard lawsuits. Some of those reasons
include their limited chances of winning the suit. If your debt is old
collectors will avoid paying high attorney fees to collect the balance.
Therefore, if you owe a debt, you have the legal right to protect yourself
against creditors. Don’t ignore the problem.
Under the credit repair laws, collection agencies cannot correspond with you
by sending mail to your address. They cannot call your family members regarding
your debt. The collection agencies are obligated by law to cease communication
if you have been subpoenaed to court. Collection agencies are under law to avoid
calling debtors after 9pm or before 8am. (Some laws state that the collection
agencies cannot call after 10pm and before 5am.) If you have an attorney and the
collection agencies know this and calls anyway, immediately file a complaint to
the proper agencies.
It is important to document all information when you are in debt. This will
protect you when the moment arises. If you have a job and a collection agency
calls your work environment he or she is in violation of the law. (Note: If your
employer allows calls, the law may not be effective)
Collection agencies are prohibited from impersonating law enforcement or
government officials in an effort to collect a debt. At no time is a collection
agency allowed to make available to the public information regarding your debts.
Collection agencies are prohibited from sending letters, making phones calls, or
acting out any form of communication that insinuates false impersonation.
It is also against the law for collection agencies to repeatedly call your
home requesting you or threatening you to pay the debt. If a collection agency
phones your home, they must comply by the law and identify their name and the
companies name within one minute of the phone conversation. Finally, collection
agencies are prohibited to list debtors on the ‘deadbeat’ list.
Many laws and regulations apply to both collection agencies and debtors.
Therefore, when you know the law you have strength to protect your self and a
possible solution to avoid the law. If your credit is bad, the first step to a
resolve is paying your dues and knowing the laws.
Related Topics
|
