There are rules about what debt collectors can and cannot do to get people to make good on their financial obligations, and some of their practices come very close to violating those rules. Creditors and the collection agencies that they hire should not engage in the active harassment of those who owe money.
There are limits to how frequently someone should receive collection phone calls and also to the time when those creditors make those calls. Small mistakes might put businesses at risk of financial liability due to their violation of federal debt collection statutes. Some companies try to avoid those issues by using an auto-dialer program. Those auto-dialers could end up making people feel harassed in some cases.
The way programs work can cause issues
Auto-dialers are programs that attempt to connect live agents with others by making outbound phone calls. The system will automatically dial numbers input into individual debtor profiles. The system will often call numerous numbers at once or call them rapidly back-to-back to more efficiently utilize the time of the agents working for the company.
When discussing the limits applied to collection phone calls, the rules generally reference connected calls where a collection professional either speaks to the debtor or leaves a message for them. Attempts that do not result in someone picking up the phone won’t necessarily impact when the company calls again. Therefore, someone might receive multiple phone calls every day if they choose not to answer the phone when a creditor calls or they screen their calls from unfamiliar numbers.
Even though the company may feel as though it has complied with debt collection laws, the person who owes money may feel hounded and harassed. If the professionals are abusive when they do speak with someone or if they ignore requests to limit how frequently they call, those acts could strengthen the claim that the creditor or collection agency involved has violated fair debt collection rules.
Those who understand the rules that govern debt collection practices in the United States may have an easier time identifying when creditors violate their rights by calling to frequently, calling the wrong location or calling at a prohibited time. Fighting back against abusive debt collection practices can help people regain their sense of peace and remind businesses about how to treat people with the dignity that they deserve.
