Bill Collectors are companies hired to collect money for a debt. These companies are commonly known as debt collectors as well as bill collectors along with a few other choice terms some of my clients have used for them.
If you have ever fallen behind in your bill payments to you are probably all too familiar with them and their endless phone calls. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) allows them to call consumers between the hours of 8am-9pm. For debtors in need of an 8am wake up call, bill collector calls could definitely suffice.
If you are sick and tired of all the calls from bill collectors a Connecticut Bankruptcy Lawyer may be able to help you. I hear from bankruptcy clients far too often that from the time they wake up in the morning until the time they go to bed the phone is ringing non-stop. While some of the bill collectors have “semi-pleasant” personalities the majority of people tell me that the bill collectors were rude and demeaning to them. Several confessed to breaking down in tears due to the humiliating nature of the calls.
And there are numerous stories of debt collectors violating FDCPA laws and threatening consumers with arrest (they can’t have you arrested) and the loss of child custody (they can’t have your kids taken away).
One of the upsides of bankruptcy is the END OF COLLECTION CALLS . When bankruptcy is filed an “automatic stay” goes into effect. The automatic stay works by stopping ALL collection activities. That’s right, ALL (and they cannot begin again without approval from the court). That means collections agencies MUST STOP, sending you collection letters, STOP calling you trying to strong arm you for money and STOP, threatening you with lawsuits.
While many bill collectors obey the FDCPA, many do not. Violations of Automatic Stay restraints are serious infractions. In those cases, legal action should be sought to end collection agency misbehavior and to make them comply with the law.