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The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal law that prohibits debt collectors from engaging in unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices, such as calling consumers at work after being told not to.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a set of United States statutes added as Title VIII of the Consumer Credit Protection Act. Its purpose is to ensure ethical practices in the collection of consumer debts and to provide consumers with an avenue for disputing and obtaining validation of debt information in order to ensure the information’s accuracy. It is often used in conjunction with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Federal law gives you rights. For example, debt collectors CAN’T:
- Call before 8 AM and after 9 PM.
- Curse or insult you.
- Demand you pay more than you owe.
- Lie about anything.
- Say papers sent to you are legal forms when they are not.
- Make up consequences for not paying your debt.
- Call you at work if your employer doesn’t allow it and you’ve informed them in writing or verbally.
