Debt Collectors: Who Are They And What Can I Do About Them?

Receiving a notice or a demand from a debt collector can be jarring.  You might wonder who they are, or why they are contacting you.  In many circumstances it can be difficult to tell why they are reaching out or even who they might be collecting on behalf of, especially if the debt they are be pursuing is old or traces from a closed account.  The good news in this circumstances is twofold.  First, that you always have the right to demand that a debt collector verify what debt they are trying to collect on, and second, that in most circumstances, bankruptcy can be a tool to help you deal with their ongoing efforts to collect from you!  

With regard to verifying the debt being collected on, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (also referred to as the FDCPA) empowers you to require that a debt collector both validate the debt that they are collecting on, and verify the amount that they are trying to collect.  Thus, if you are being contacted by a debt collector and are unsure what they might be collecting for, or if you are wondering whether it might even be a scam, you can send a written notice to the collector demanding that they validate the debt and verify the amount owed.  

The FDCPA is a powerful resource here as it places the onus on the debt collector to demonstrate that they have the right to be collecting on a debt.  In this regard, it can be constructive in ensuring not only that a debt is authentic, but also that the debt collector is legally allowed to pursue it and that you are the party that they are allowed to pursue it from.

Beyond simply verifying that the debt is real however, you might wonder what you can do to deal with ongoing collections efforts for a debt that has been verified.  This is where bankruptcy comes into play.  In many circumstances, filing bankruptcy can halt these collections efforts through a mechanism known as the automatic stay, which prohibits a creditor or a debt collector working on their behalf from pursuing a debt from an individual who is actively engaged in the bankruptcy process.  Moreover, once the bankruptcy discharge has taken place, it bars a creditor from collecting from you on any of the debts that have been discharged.  In speaking with your bankruptcy attorney, they will explain the specific parameters of how the bankruptcy process can be leveraged to protect you from your creditors.

The process of debt collection can often be more than a little bit scary, and the tactics employed by many debt collectors play no small part in that.  The good news is that legislation passed by congress such as the FDCPA and the Bankruptcy Code provide safeguards that assist people in protecting themselves from over-reaching creditors, and we are here to help you navigate these safeguards to ensure that they work for your benefit.

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When the time is right, or when you are ready, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Minnesota’s most kind and helpful bankruptcy law firm by going now to www.lifebacklaw.com.