Fair Debt Collections Act? problem with law ?
Fair Debt Collections Act? problem with law ?Has anyone ever heard of this act before? I received an email indicating
that by using this act I could eliminate my debt without filing BK?
Is this true? Where can I find out more about this act without adding my
name and other personal info to any mailing lists?
-It's probably a scam. If you want to eliminated debt without bankruptcy,
check with Consumer Credit Counseling. That's about the only honest firm
out there offering this service.
-Don't know about "eliminating" all your debt but you can read the
provisions of the Act here:
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm
I think if the creditors violate this Act in some way you may have
some kind of leverage to negoitate with them about your debt, i.e. by
indicating to them that they may have violated this Act and therefore
you may be able to sue them for this violation.
-The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is title 15
United States Code section 1692 et. seq.
Besides this federal law, many (most? all?) states have
state laws regulating fair debt collection. In my state,
Massachusetts, the state fair debt collection law is
chapter 93 section 49 of the General Laws. There are
additional sections of the General Laws and also regulations
of the Attorney General, 940 C.M.R. 7.00 et. seq., which
are relevant to debt collection in Massachusetts.
My experience suggests that debt collectors frequently
violate these laws and that the debtor protection
provisions of these laws sometimes may be used by debtors
instead of bankruptcy. I don't think it would be quite
correct to say "eliminate" the debt, but one certainly
can stop collection in many cases.