How to Avoid Credit Card Harassments

Posted on by John Mufson

Creditors are people you owe money to. These people can pursue you to collect their payments. However, they aren’t allowed to disturb you at a point where it becomes harassment. There are many cases where debtors have sued credit card companies for harassment. In this blog post, we will share how you can avoid credit card harassment and protect your rights. 

Can I Sue Creditors for Calling Continuously?

The Federal Debt Collection Practice Act has laid down rules and regulations that protect debtors from creditors’ pressure. A card company or any lending institution under the FDCPA cannot continuously call you at your home or office. However. FDCPA hasn’t specified the number of calls they are allowed to make. In Austin v. Great Lakes Collection Bureau, Ms, Austrin sued her creditor for calling her at her office despite Ms. Austin asking them not to. Moreover, your credit card company isn’t allowed to curse or swear to your on-call. You can conveniently file a case against your creditor if that happens. 

How to Avoid Creditor Harassment

Avoiding creditor harassment is easy if you know your rights and the law of your state. You can quickly take control of your situation by understanding how to prevent creditor harassment. 

  • Pay Your Due on Time 

The best way to avoid creditors’ harassment is to pay your dues on time. You can do this by deducting your liabilities from your income during the start of the month. Moreover, paying your dues on time is beneficial for your credit score. Otherwise, your credit rating will plummet, and you won’t be eligible for taking loans. 

  • Identify Your Debt 

Before knowing your rights and taking action, you need to identify your debt. Sometimes, credit card companies make the mistake of calling you for debts that are already cleared. In addition, your credit card company might confuse you for someone else with a similar name. Ask the account number if you are sure you don’t have any pending dues. Identifying your debt is essential before you take any legal action. 

  • Know Your Rights 

Knowing your rights is essential; otherwise, you can’t defend yourself. As a US citizen, you have all the right to sue your credit card company if they are harassing you. Even if you have a pending loan, you can’t sue your creditors for misbehaving. These regulations are laid out by FDCPA to protect your rights from being violated. 

  • Take Action 

You have the right to sue your creditor if they are bothering you too much. However, there is a preliminary step you can take before going hardcore. Try writing a “stop contact” or “cease letter” to inform your creditors about their misbehavior. This letter will only prevent the third-party agencies hired by creditors for payment collection. However, your lending institution will also honor this request. If your creditor keeps bothering you even after the letter, write another cease letter informing your creditor about the federal violation. If you are still receiving phone calls, you can sue your creditors against the breach they are causing laid out by FDCPA. Keep copies of your letter and phone calls because this information will help you win your case. 

  • Send an “Exempt Income Letter” 

Most people lost their jobs in COVID19, which has increased the number of people living on government finances. If you are one of those, then you are not eligible to pay anything to your debt collector. You can inform your creditors about your current financial position by writing a letter. Lending institutions honor this request, and they won’t contact you for payments after this.  

What Counts as Harassment? 

Harassment has a different meaning under different contexts. However, if your credit does anything mentioned below, you can exercise your rights to protect yourself from the creditor’s harassment. 

  • Calling you at work despite your warnings 
  • Calling you multiple times in a week 
  • Contacting you early in the morning or late at night 
  • Pressurizing your to pay your debt
  • Pressurizing your to sell your home 
  • Sending you letters and documents that appear official, but they aren’t. 

Conclusion

Credit card harassment is a violation of your rights. If you are frustrated with early morning or late night calls from creditors, you can always contact the authorities to deal with them. However, there are preliminary steps you can take to avoid going to court. We have mentioned the necessary steps you can take to protect your rights without involving federal agencies.

Don’t tolerate credit card harassment. Delray Beach residents as well as those from Palm Beach County needing help should contact the law office of John E. Mufson to know what actions they can take against these harassers.