Did you know that under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act:
I. Debt collectors
- Can’t contact you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., unless you agree to it
- Can’t contact you at work if you tell them you’re not allowed to get calls there
- Can’t contact you by email or text message if you ask them to stop
- Can’t call you more than seven times within a seven-day period or within seven days after talking with you by phone about a particular debt
- Can’t privately message you on social media if you ask them to stop
II. A caller may be a fake debt collector if they:
- Want you to repay a debt you don’t recognize
- Refuse to give you their mailing address or phone number
- Pressure you, or try to scare you into paying by threatening to report you to law enforcement or have you arrested
III. A collector must give you “validation information” about the debt, including:
- Their name and mailing address (This is my favorite demand. It always catches them off-guard)
- The name of the creditor you owe it to
- How much money you owe, written out to include interest, fees, payments, and credits
- What to do if you don’t think it’s your debt (You can always state that you “paid that debt”)
- Your debt collection rights – including your right to get information about the original creditor.
So what should you do if you receive that unwanted test? Just ignore these type of text messages. Let me be clear: It is never rude or impolite to ignore and delete text messages from strangers
And what should Vegas Voice readers do when Mr. (or Ms.) Debt Collector contacts you by phone or email? It really is easy.
Take a breath, think, and don’t hesitate to DELETE that email. And if you receive that telephone call, hang up the phone, hang up the phone and…HANG UP THE PHONE!
Don’t give these SOBs a moment of your time. Believe me, you’re better than all of them.
