We Fight Unfair Debt Collection Practices And Creditor Harassment
It is stressful enough to be overwhelmed by debt and have your creditors start calling you to collect. When these collection practices are abusive and deceptive, your stress can reach a whole new level. Unfair debt collection practices can contribute to marital problems, invade your privacy and even amount to unemployment and bankruptcy.
Our consumer protection lawyers at Brody & Cornwell in St. Louis protect clients against unfair debt collection practices throughout Missouri. If you are overwhelmed by creditors’ phone calls and invasive collection methods, we can help make it stop.
The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCA) Protects Consumers
Creditors regularly employ deceptive, abusive and unfair practices to try to collect debts and money that is owed to them. The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCA) protects consumers from abuse by creditors. The FDCA makes it illegal for creditors to:
- Contact you at work
- Contact your family members, friends or neighbors
- Make threats about garnishing your wages or report you to a credit bureau
- Make threats about sending you to jail or having you evicted from your home
- Add additional fees or extra charges to your debt
- Make derogatory remarks
It is illegal for a creditor or collection agency to threaten you in any way or to use harsh, discriminatory statements or obscene language in their attempts to collect their debt. In addition, if a creditor is engaging in any forbidden behaviors, you are allowed to ask for damages and reasonable attorney fees. A creditor could have to pay you up to $1,000 and your attorney fees if they are guilty of any unfair debt collection practices.
How Hiring A Creditor Harassment Attorney Can Stop Abusive Practices
If your creditors are utilizing abusive and illegal debt collection practices, our consumer protection lawyers can confront them. We can also sue them for debt harassment. The FDCA allows you to ask for damages from your creditors for their abusive behaviors. However, time is of the essence. The laws only allow a certain period of time for you to try to collect damages from your abusive creditors.
The FDCA also requires that your creditor will have to pay attorney fees if they are guilty of abusive behaviors. In every case, our attorneys will also work to shift any attorney fees onto your creditors so that there is no financial risk to you for consulting us.
Consult A Debt Harassment Lawyer For Free
A debt harassment lawyer can help protect your rights. To schedule a free consultation at Brody & Cornwell, contact us today. You can also schedule your free appointment by calling our office at 314-400-2229. We look forward to telling you more about how we can stop creditor harassment and protect your consumer rights.