St. Louis Bankruptcy Lawyers Blog
You have a right to demand that the debt collector cease any and all communication with you regarding your debts, but the federal law governing this area states very clearly that such a demand has to made in writing. Assuming that you do indeed make a written demand, then a collection agencies’ subsequent efforts to come after you for the debt in question is a violation of your consumer rights.
The body of law that determines what is or is not acceptable behavior for a debt collector is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). This statute regulates what a collection agency can do in their attempts to collect on a debt. One such regulation is found in Section 805(c), which states: Ceasing Communication: If a consumer notifies a debt collector in writing that the consumer refuses to pay a debt or that the consumer wishes the debt collector to cease further communication with the consumer, the debt collector shall not communicate further with the consumer with respect to such debt…
If after a proper written notification is given the collector continues to make demand on the debt (either by calling or mailing letters), then it has violated the statute. The damages for having done so is to pay you $1,000. The other nice thing about this particular law is that if in fact a violation can be shown to have occurred, the collection agency has to pay your attorney fees. This means that you do not have to pay any upfront fees to an attorney for them to file suit for you.
Assuming that the debt collector harassing you is not the only debt you are dealing with, it may also be wise to look into whether or not filing a St. Louis Chapter 7 bankruptcy or a St. Louis Chapter 13 bankruptcy makes sense for your particular situation. Such a filing will for sure cease all communication with your creditors, as they will at that point never again be allowed to make any sort of contact with you again, as all of your unsecured debts (like credit cards, medical bills, payday loans, etc.) are discharged forever.
The affordable St. Louis bankruptcy lawyers at The Bankruptcy Company have been providing quality, expert bankruptcy legal services for over ten years. Our goal is to make sure that you get the fresh start / clean slate that you deserve, and put you on the road towards financial success.