Unfair Debt Collection in Montana

What Does the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Prohibit?

There are certain methods of collecting a debt that are expressly prohibited per the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which include:

• Making threats of arrest or violence: Collections agents cannot threaten to have a debtor arrested for failing to pay a debt they owe. Additionally, they cannot threaten to physically harm you or your property for failing to do so.
• Using inappropriate language: While threats are unlawful, so is the use of abusive and profane language when agents are attempting to collect on debts.
• Call you at work: This rule specifically applies if creditors have been made aware that employers do not allow such calls.
• Obsessively calling or harassing debtors: This federal law states that it’s unlawful for collection agents to call at unreasonable hours yet stops short of defining what would seem like an excessive number of calls.
• Calling at unreasonable times: FDCPA clearly states that reaching out to a debtor before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. without a debtor’s prior consent is inappropriate.
• Continuing to call after being asked to stop: If you send a certified letter requesting that a debt collector stop calling you, yet they continue to do so, their actions may violate FDCPA.
• Impersonating a government agency or attorneys: It’s unlawful for creditors to make it seem like they’re working for an attorney’s office or law enforcement or another government agency trying to get your debtor to pay up.
• Telling others about someone’s debt: Debt collectors can’t broadcast a debtor’s failure to pay what they owe publicly just to embarrass them. FDCPA only allows creditors to discuss a debt obligation with the debtor themselves or their legal representative. There is an exception to this rule that applies to credit bureaus.
• Reaching out by phone instead of by other means: If you have sent your creditor a certified letter requesting that they discontinue calling you and instead only send you written correspondence and they don’t honor your request, it may be possible to hold them liable for unfair debt collection under the FDCPA.

Additionally, this federal law requires collections agents to be honest in their communication, including at the onset of the call, where they must identify themselves and state who they’re employed by. They must additionally use caution when outlining their debt collection efforts plans. For example, they cannot promise to do things they don’t intend to or cannot lawfully do.

It’s important to note that FDCPA only applies to debt collectors, not creditors. However, other laws or regulations do require creditors to use respectful language when engaging with debtors and respect their wishes when you request for them to only contact you in writing.