Collection agents and creditors often use telecommunications to collect the money owed to them. Calling a person who owes money can remind them that they have fallen behind and may inspire them to rework their budget.
Creditors must comply with rules restricting communications intended to help collect on a debt. For example, they cannot call someone at 3:00 in the morning and wake them off to demand that they pay a past-due medical bill. There are also rules against threatening people to try to force them to pay their debts.
In fact, there are even restrictions on harassment when calling people. One of the most embarrassing circumstances for those who fall behind on their financial obligations is when a creditor calls them at work. In some cases, collection calls to someone’s place of work may violate their rights under fair debt collection rules.
When do collection calls at work become a violation of someone’s rights?
When a debtor can’t accept calls at work
Many employers restrict worker access to telecommunications for private purposes while on the clock. At a factory, for example, management doesn’t want to pull someone off the line to take a call in the front office. Doing so might mean that the entire factory falls behind schedule for a major order.
If an employer has a rule saying that a worker cannot receive personal calls on the job, they can communicate that during a collection call. If the creditor or collection company continues to call them at work after learning that doing so could endanger their employment, that may be a violation of that individual’s rights.
When a creditor discloses private information to others
Sometimes, the intent behind calling someone at work is to shame them into paying a debt. Technically, communications from debt collection professionals are private matters. Creditors and collection agents should not make inappropriate disclosures to outside parties.
If they tell an individual’s co-workers about their debts or attempt to get personal information from those coworkers to more effectively collect on the debt, that might constitute a violation of debt collection regulations. Experiencing debt collection efforts is frustrating enough on its own without creditors and private collection companies violating an individual’s rights.
Those who have experienced predatory or inappropriate debt collection efforts may want to explore taking legal action. Filing a lawsuit over abusive debt collection practices can potentially force a company to reevaluate its practices and may protect an individual from future misconduct.
