Financial Crunch Or Crisis: How To Deal With A

If you are behind on your bills, you are probably getting calls and letters from collection agencies. Since this can be stressful, it's important to know your rights.

Under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, collection agencies cannot do any of the following:

• Call your place of work if you tell them your employer prohibits it.
• Call your home before 8AM or after 9PM.
• Be abusive
• Call others about your situation.

If any of the above occur:

• Make notes including the date and time the event occurred and the company who contacted you. If you can get it, include the name of the person who calls.
• Tell callers to stop and that, if they don't, you'll report them to the Federal Trade Commission www.ftc.gov , State Attorney General's office, and Better Business Bureau www.bbb.org . 
• If they persist, continue to make notes of each contact and file a complaint.

To temporarily stop all communications from creditors, write the collection agency or creditor.

• Tell them that you want them to cease communicating with you. If you believe you do not owe the bill, tell them that you do not owe the amount they claim. (Send the letter in a manner that gives you a delivery receipt. Keep a copy for your file.)
• A creditor will still be able to go after you legally, but will not  be able to contact you again until a lawsuit is actually filed. If the amount you owe is small, the situation may just go away, although there is likely to be a negative entry on your credit report which will affect your credit score. To learn about credit scores, and why they are important to you, click here. 

For additional information, see: Your Rights With Respect To Creditors

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