Some people will do just about anything to make a buck. This is especially true when it comes to those individuals who are seeking to collect an owed debt. While a credit agency may be entitled to collect a debt, there are limitations to the lengths they can go to obtain those funds. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act places a number of regulations on debt collectors to ensure consumer protection. A violation of any one of these regulations may serve as the grounds for legal action.
One thing debt collectors are forbidden from doing is making misrepresentations to debtors in an effort to collect an owed sum. They cannot make false or misleading statements to try to entice an individual to pay a debt such as by claiming that they are affiliated with or vouched for by the federal government in some way. A debt collector also cannot falsely imply that he or she is a lawyer or that certain communications are from an attorney.
But the regulations don't stop there. Debt collectors are also prohibited from making threats of legal action that cannot actually be taken. Such scare tactics are coercive in nature and stressful to those who are unfamiliar with protections offered under the FDCPA. Also, debt collectors are disallowed from communicating credit information about a debtor to another person when it is known or should be known that the information is false.
These are just a small sampling of the protections offered by the FDCPA with regard to falsities and misrepresentations. The FDCPA offers other protections that many debt collectors try to circumvent. Those facing aggressive and harassing collectors should make sure they protect themselves as fully as possible by utilizing the law to their advantage. This is where the assistance of a qualified legal professional may prove beneficial.