Debtor Rights

You have certain rights as a debtor that restrict what creditors can and cannot do when interacting with you.

Start Today Here is a list of what the law does and does not permit creditors to do. Keep in mind that with debt consolidation, your consolidation service will deal with your creditors so you don't have to. Debt consolidation can provide welcome relief from harassment by overzealous creditors.

Creditors can contact family, friends, or employers to determine your whereabouts. A creditor can contact these parties to locate you, but he cannot explain that you owe any debts or suggest that he is from a debt collection agency. If you do not want creditors contacting you or people who know you, you might consider debt consolidation. Your debt consolidation service will then deal exclusively with your creditors.
Creditors can only call between the hours of eight AM and nine PM your time.
Creditors cannot call your employer if you've notified them that you cannot receive calls at work.
You may request that a creditor no longer contact you by producing a written notice. After you request that a creditor no longer contact you, they can only contact you for 2 reasons: to notify you that they have given up trying to collect the debt or to notify you of special circumstances, such as judgments or other debt options.
Creditors cannot harass, oppress, or abuse you while attempting to collect a debt. This prohibits creditors from threatening physical harm, using foul language, threatening your reputation, or even annoying you.
Creditors cannot publicly reveal you as a person who does not pay his/her debts. A creditor cannot, for example, put your name in the newspaper as someone who hasn't paid his/her debt.
Creditors cannot misrepresent themselves as another party. It is illegal for creditors to masquerade as a government agent, credit bureau agent, state agent, legal entity, or any other person with legitimate collection power. Also, they cannot imprison or arrest you for nonpayment.
Creditors only can charge the fees and interest permitted by law. Creditors are limited by law on what they can charge you in interest expense, but these limits are still very high. Debt consolidation can help you secure low interest rates available exclusively to debt consolidation customers.
Creditors can take legal action, and, if the court approves, garnish your personal property or wages. Creditors can get a judgment against you to garnish your wages or seize personal property.