If a person falls behind on their payments for a financial obligation, such as credit card debt, they may receive notices from the lender who has backed the delinquent obligation. Hamilton residents may receive letters, phone calls, and emails about the status of their debts, as well as requests for payments. Some communications from creditors are permissible; others that are harassing are not.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits creditors and lenders from engaging in certain practices. For example, creditors are not allowed to contacted debtors in the middle of the night; they must limit their communications to between 8:00 in the morning and 9:00 at night. They may not make repeated calls to their debtors with the intent of harassing or annoying them.
Also, if a debtor chooses to work with an attorney to help them get out from under their debts, a creditor may not communicate directly with that debtor. The creditor is required to send their notices and messages to the debtor’s legal representative instead.
Creditors may not contact individuals when they are at work, and, if debtors ask creditors to stop calling, then the creditors must abide by those requests. These are only some of the protections that the FDCPA offers to consumers, and it is important that Tennessee residents know their rights under this important law. Their debt relief and bankruptcy attorneys can help them enforce their rights under this and other laws and can also support them as they work to become debt free.
