The Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the New York City Consumer Protection Law Guideline 10 and New York City State Statute, General Service Law, Short Article 29-H, (the "State Statute") all restrict threatening, frightening and bugging collection treatments. For instance, the State Statute prohibits a collection agent from (a) threatening to interact with your company prior to that representative acquiring a judgement against you, (b) interacting with your household or home at such frequency or at such unusual hours as can reasonably be anticipated to be violent or harassing, or (c) mimicing any legal or judicial process or seeming licensed, issued or approved by the federal government or a lawyer to gather a debt.
Likewise, if the collection agent sends you a letter demanding you pay without the reuired notification under the federal law regarding your confidentiality, your rights to challenge the debt an dgiving you the suitable 30 days to react, then the debt collector is immediately liable to you for any damages plus three times the quantity of your damages. Each violation of the State Statute is a separate misdemeanor offense. You can file accused of the State Attorney General Of The zfn processing United States or your County District Attorney as well as request a limiting action against the collection business to stop it from continuing abuse and harassment.
If you feel abused or harassed by a debt collection agency, call that agency and get the name and address of the owner/president. Send your written grievance, by certified mail, return invoice, to the owner/president and include in your letter that you "believe that agency is breaching the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and other state and local laws and that you will (a) file problems with the Attorney general of the United States or the District Attorney's workplace (subjecting the collection company to misdemeanor charges) and (b) demand a restraining action versus the collection agency." If the collection business continues to abuse and harrass you, then go ahead and file your complaints and charges.
This post is certainly not all inclusive and is planned only as a short description of the legal issue provided. Not all cases are alike and it is strongly suggested that you seek advice from an attorney if you have any concerns with respect to any legal matters.
