Do You Need an Attorney to Fight Against Abusive Debt Collection?
If you are having trouble with credit card debt, loans or other debt, you are protected from overly aggressive debt collectors by the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (CCPA). In fact, you may be able to recover money from those who violate the law by harassing consumers just like you. The debt collection harassment lawyers of the Disparti Law Group Accident & Injury Lawyers, P.A., can help residents in Tampa and throughout Florida who have been harmed by the abusive practices of creditors and debt collection agencies. Our goal is to make sure that consumers’ rights are fully protected.
“After all, creditor harassment is illegal. It can be stopped. For a free consultation, contact us right away by phone or online.”
You Are Protected from Abusive Creditors
State and federal laws recognize that people who fall into debt and have trouble paying what they owe should not be harassed and abused by debt collectors. To deter and punish this type of misconduct by creditors, the federal FDCPA and Florida CCPA prescribe damages to be paid to those whose rights have been violated. In general, a debt collector may not:
- Pose as a law enforcement officer or any local, state or federal official. They also cannot falsely act as if they are enforcing a legal order.
- Threaten or use violence or profane, obscene, vulgar or abusive language.
- Contact a debtor between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. in the debtor’s time zone.
- Contact debtors at their place of employment.
- Threaten to tell an employer or anyone else about the debt a consumer owes prior to obtaining a legal judgment.
- Mail material to the debtor that has information on the outside of the envelope designed to embarrass the debtor.
- Disclose or threaten to disclose damaging information about the debtor to anyone without a legitimate business need for it.
- Publish or post or threaten to publish or post information about a debt owed as a means to obtain payment.
- Pose as a lawyer or attorney or falsely act as if they are associated with an attorney.
Also, a debt collector may not contact you once you advise them that you are represented by an attorney concerning the debt (unless the attorney cannot be contacted or, with your approval, gives the collector such permission).
Remedies for Abusive Debt Collection Practices: Why you need a debt collection harassment lawyer
Once you engage an attorney at the Disparti Law Group Accident & Injury Lawyers, P.A., our first step can be to inform debt collectors that they are no longer permitted to contact you directly. If they continue to harass you, there are remedies that our lawyers can aggressively pursue on your behalf in federal and/or state court. For instance, federal law and Florida law each allow an individual consumer to obtain up to $1,000 in damages from a debt collector who violates the law(s). In a class-action lawsuit against a debt collector, both federal and Florida law allow an award to the plaintiffs and other members of the class of up to $500,000, or 1 percent of the debt collector’s net worth, whichever is less.
Evidence of the misconduct by unscrupulous debt collectors can include records of calls, letters, voicemail, texts and their content. In some cases, debt collection agencies may have company policies or memos that actually authorize or encourage this type of behavior. We can handle the process of pursuing a state or federal claim on your behalf while you focus on simply living your life in peace and without the stress created by abusive debt collection practices. Keep in mind: In a successful action, the abusive creditor may be ordered by a court to pay all costs of the action as well as attorney fees.
How Can I Afford to Hire an Attorney to Fight Against Abusive Debt Collection?
During an initial consultation, which is free, we will review the specifics of your accident and discuss your legal options. If we determine that we can handle your case, we will represent you on a contingent fee basis. You will not be charged for legal fees or costs unless we obtain compensation for you through a settlement or court award. At that time, the fee for our legal representation will come from a percentage of the final award.
CONTACT US TODAY FOR A FREE CASE REVIEW