by: Michael Saunders

Unfair Practices: No debt collector can use dishonest or unfair means of making you pay your debts to them. The following actions are deemed to be violations of the law by these debt collectors:

1. Collecting any money at all - such as interest, late fees, or any charges other than the principal amount - unless it is specifically permitted by law and/or authorized by the agreement that created the debt.

2. Taking post-dated checks from you that are more than five days away, unless the debt collector informs you no more than 10 or less than three business days before depositing the cheek.

3. Soliciting postdated checks for the purpose of threatening or instituting criminal prosecution.

4. Depositing or threatening to deposit any postdated checks that you have sent them before the date of such check.

5. Making collect calls to consumers, or doing anything that would cause debtors to incur charges for communication by debt collectors that are trying to conceal the purpose of their contact.

Validation of Debts: As a consumer, you have the right to verify, validate or dispute any debt you are told about by the agency, within a given time frame. Within five days of initially contacting you, a debt collection agency must:  (continued...)
Rights When Dealing With Debt Collectors ( (Part 3)
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