Debtors often feel as though they have no choice but to give in to whatever it is debt collectors are demanding. Incessant phone calls, mailboxes full of demand letters, and, ultimately, collections lawsuits can make your days and nights miserable. But they don’t have to be.
Even if you owe someone money, you have rights. If debt collectors violate those rights, you can turn the tables on them and sue them for damages.
A variety of state and federal laws protect you from harassment and allow you to get information about your debts to determine if you even owe the money they claim you do. Contact Attorney Pagel and our team of dedicated lawyers to find out how to enforce your rights, often at no cost to you.
Some of your rights are:
You have the right to be free from harassment. Collectors should not call you before 8 am, after 9 p.m., and if you tell them other times they should not call, they have to listen to you. They can’t call you at work if your work doesn’t allow them to do so. They can’t call your cell phone if you tell them not to.
You have the right to request proof that you actually owe the money they say you do. If you demand that a collector validate or verify the debt, the collector has to do so – before taking any other action.
You have the right to have a court determine whether you are in default or if you even owe any money at all. Debt collectors have to prove you owe the money, and to do that they have to produce records showing how much you owe, and prove that they complied with the law in trying to collect the debt.
Best of all, if debt collectors violate any of these rights – or the many others you have – you can sue them to avoid paying them any money and collect damages, and can possibly do so without paying anything to our attorneys!
Our lawyers have collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages for our clients from debt collectors who cross the line into harassing behavior. Stop being afraid to answer the phone or read the mail. Call our lawyers now.
