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Debt defense: How to defend yourself against abusive debt collectors

Do you know if you’re a victim of debt collection abuse? If your answer is ‘yes’ to any of these 5 questions, then understand that you're a victim of illegal debt collection practices.

  • Q1 Has the debt collector threatened to send you to jail?
  • Q2 Has the debt collector called you after 9 pm?
  • Q3 Did the debt collector abuse you verbally?
  • Q4 Did the debt collector call your employer and disclose all the confidential details?
  • Q5 Did the debt collector threaten to seize your assets?

Fortunately, there are various ways to defend yourself against abusive debt collection practices and save yourself from unnecessary harassment. Here are some of them:

  • 1) Understand what is debt defense: Honestly speaking, debt defense is nothing but defending yourself against unfair debt collection practices. But you can do it only when you know all the laws and your rights. Read FDCPA laws to find out what kind of activities are prohibited. Once you’re aware of your consumer rights, you can take corrective steps against the collection agencies.
  • 2) Call 800-530-OVLG: Well, this is the easiest way to protect yourself from abusive debt collection practices. Call 800-530-OVLG and get free advice on how to deal with the tricky collectors. Our debt attorneys know state and federal laws, debt collection laws, and the statute of limitations very well. They can tell if you have been the victim of collection abuse and what you need to do to safeguard yourself.

    If the collection agencies have violated the FDCPA laws, then our debt attorney can help you file a lawsuit against them. If you win the lawsuit, then you have a chance to win a financial compensation of $1000 from them.

    What if the debt is valid but the collection agencies are violating the FDCPA laws? Well, in that case also, our debt attorneys can help you. They can negotiate with your creditors and make a settlement agreement with them.

    Sometimes, creditors/collection agencies file a lawsuit when you don’t pay them even after their repeated requests. In that case, a debt attorney can also help you. He can help you to make affirmative defenses against the credit card lawsuit. You can get sample answers with affirmative defenses and give a reply to the summons. That may help you to defend yourself.

  • 3) Don’t pay over the phone: Collection agencies want money. The more they can get from you, the merrier. Some collection agencies even ask you to make payments over the phone. Panic-stricken debtors often pay the amount online to avoid trouble in the future. But this is a very wrong debt defense strategy.

    If a debt collector asks you to make payments over the phone, don’t act accordingly. Always ask the debt collector to validate the debt in writing first. Once you know that the debt is valid, you can pay the collector.

  • 4) Maintain all records: Keep records of your conversations with the debt collector. Save all emails, text messages, account statements, documents, etc. Note down the collector’s name and contact details. You will need these documents and information at the time of the credit card lawsuit defense.
  • 5) Dispute debts when required:Look at your credit report. Find out if there are invalid debts on your credit report. If you see that collection agencies have illegally reported old debts to bring down your FICO score, then you should dispute with credit bureaus immediately. The credit bureau will investigate the matter and give you a reply within 30 days. If the information is wrong, then the credit bureaus will have to remove it from your credit report.
  • 6) Send a Cease and Desist letter: This is a great way to defend yourself when collection agencies are harassing you for invalid debts. You can send a Cease and Desist letter to the collection agency to stop all sorts of communications with them. Once the collection agency receives this letter, they can’t contact you anymore. However, they can contact you once and let you know 2 things:

    (i) They won’t contact you anymore

    (ii) They intend to file a lawsuit against you

Be brave. Don’t be scared.

Collection agencies often use scare tactics to get money from you. It’s a money game after all. You have to understand this and try to play the game like a pro. Collection agencies will say a lot of things to scare you. But they can’t do half of the things that they say. They can report collection accounts to credit reporting agencies. They can even file a lawsuit against you to garnish your wages, levy your bank account, and impose a lien on your property. But that’s all they can do.

Collection agencies often violate the FDCPA laws to get money from you. That is illegal. You have to understand what is debt collection defense, and how to implement it. This is the only way to safeguard yourself against debt collection scams.

Bottom line

Call our Toll FREE Number 800-530-OVLG to learn more about debt defense. Read FDCPA laws to understand your rights as a debtor. On the other hand, do have a clear picture of the reality as well. You can’t avoid legitimate debt collection attempts. In that case, you have to either pay the total outstanding balance or you have to enroll in a debt relief program to get back on the right financial track.

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