Harassment by Your Bill Collector May Be Illegal

A reader wrote to thank me recently for a column called “Consumer’s Bill of Rights,” which I wrote more than three years ago. He had saved it--though I doubt if it was still on his refrigerator door--and gave it to a friend who was having problems with a bill collector.

For those of you who didn’t save the column, or never saw it in the first place, here’s a quick refresher course on your rights as a consumer when it comes to credit, bills and bill collectors.

Federal Laws

There are several federal laws that regulate credit and collection practices, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and similar California statutes. Rather than recite the legal niceties, here are some of the bill collector practices that are illegal:

--Using obscene or profane language.

--Calling after 9 p.m. or before 8 a.m.

--Pretending to be affiliated with law enforcement or a government agency.

--Threatening physical violence.

--Telling your neighbors that you’re a deadbeat or don’t pay your bills.

--Pretending that legal proceedings have been filed to collect the debt.

--Repeatedly calling your employer--but a bill collector can call your boss once to verify employment.

--Using a written notice that looks like it is authorized or issued by a court or government agency.

And a bill collector is prohibited from doing anything generally to “harass, oppress or abuse” any person in connection with the collection of a debt.

You can stop most routine collection communication simply by asking in writing for the bill collector to stop. Under Section 1692 of Title 15 of the U.S. Code, once you tell the bill collector in a letter that you are refusing to pay the debt or that you want further communication to cease, he must halt his routine collection efforts, leaving only specific legal remedies to pursue, such as a lawsuit. Be sure to mention the specific section of the U.S. Code, and keep a copy of the letter.

If a collection agency violates the law while trying to collect a debt from you, you have a legal right to sue for damages, including any emotional distress arising from its activities. If the violation is willful, the court may award punitive damages of up to $1,000 per violation.

Written Version

You also have the legal right to know what is in any credit reports kept on you by any credit reporting agencies. The credit bureau is legally required to show you your file and, at your request, provide a written version of it, including explanations of any codes in it.

You also have the right, under Section 1785.10 of the state Civil Code, to see the sources of information for items in your credit file. The credit bureau may charge a small fee, up to $8 for your file, but you cannot be charged if you’re demanding to see it within 30 days of being denied credit.

In a future column, I’ll discuss what to do if you think a credit report includes incorrect information, or if you’ve been denied credit unfairly.