A debtor is anyone who uses credit cards, avails a personal loan or has taken a home mortgage. Falling behind in payments to creditors will lead to a debt collector getting in touch with the debtor.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act lays down that debtors must be treated fairly by debt collectors by steering clear of certain methods of debt collection. Not that the law frees the debtor from any legitimate debt that is owed.

The debts covered under the act include personal, family and household debts. The specific nature of the debt could range from automobile purchase to medical care and charge accounts.

Debt collectors are defined as anyone regularly collecting debts owed to others. Attorneys collecting debt on a regular basis are also come under this category. Debt collectors are entitled to contact a debtor in person, by mail, telephone, telegram or fax. But they cannot contact the debtor at odd hours and places like before 8 am and after 9pm unless the debtor has agreed to be contacted during those hours. Debt collectors are also not allowed to contact debtors at their place of work, more so, if the employer disapproves of it.

A debtor can request that a debt collector stop contacting him by writing to the collection agency. Once the letter has reached the agency, they can only contact the debtor to inform him of no further contact or to notify him of some specific action that the collector or creditor intends to take. However the letter does not prevent the collector or creditor from filing a lawsuit.

Apart from the actual debtor, a debt collector is required to contact the attorney if the debtor has one. In case there is no attorney, the collector can contact other people but only to find out your whereabouts. Usually the collector is not to let anybody other than the debtor know about the money that is owed.

In not less than five days following the first intimation, the debtor has to be given a written notice about the amount of money that is owed, along with the name of the creditor and the required action to be taken in case there has been a mistake.

Before a 30-day period from the date of receipt of the written notice has lapsed, the debtor needs to inform the collection agency that he does not owe the money. Then the agency has to furnish evidence of the debt having been availed, which could be in the form of a bill copy of the expense incurred. Only then can they resume collection efforts again.

There are a number of actions that have been deemed unacceptable and unlawful for debt collection by the Act. Debt collector do not have the right to harass, oppress or abuse anybody while contacting the debtor. They are also forbidden by the law to use any form of threat of physical or mental harm or violence. Neither can they publish a list of consumers refusing to pay their debts, unless it is to a credit bureau. Profanity and obscenity are not to be used nor should repeated telephone calls be made to bother a debtor.

No false statements can be made by debt collectors during the debt collection process. They are prohibited from conveying any false impression of being either attorneys or government representatives. They cannot claim that a crime has been committed by the debtor. They also cannot imply falsely that they have been sent by a credit bureau. The amount of debt owed by the debtor cannot be misrepresented. Any papers sent to the debtor cannot be passed off as legal forms unless they actually are. Similarly when legal forms are sent to the debtor they must not be made to believe that they are not.

There are other false claims that the debt collectors are not permitted to make by law. These include threatening debtors with arrest in case of failure to pay the debt. No threats can be made by way of seizure of the debtors belongings, property, assets or wages unless they have the legal right to do so. They cannot threaten to file lawsuits which may not be legally permitted or if they have noi intention of actually doing so.

The law also specifies that debt collectors are not entitled to certain actions including furnishing false information about a debtor to anyone least of all a credit bureau. Any official looking court or government agency document cannot be sent to the debtor when it may not be so. False names may also not be assumed.

The Act also elaborates on unfair actions that the debt collectors are not entitled to employ in their efforts to collect a debt. For one, the amount collected must not exceed that of the debt unless the state laws of that particular state permit it. Post-dated checks should not be deposited before the actual date on the check. Deception of any kind is not permitted as a means of making debtors accept collect calls or pay for telegrams. Threats to seize property are only permitted if there is legal provision for it. Collectors do not have the right to contact debtors by postcards either.

In case of any violation of the Act by a debt collector, the debtor can sue him within a period of one year in a state or federal court. If the debtor wins the case he is entitled to receive compensation for the damages suffered in addition to an amount up to $1000. Recovery of court and attorney fees is also possible. More than one person can also sue a debt collector collectively and stand to gain an amount up to $500,000 or one percent of the collectors net worth, depending on which is less.

In order to report any violation of the Act by a debt collector, a report can be filed with the state Attorney General office and the Federal Trade Commission. Different states follow their own set of laws on debt collection and the Attorney general office can provide guidance to the debtor in asserting his rights.