End Creditor Harassment by Filing for Bankruptcy in WA

Creditor Protection with the Help of Washington Attorneys

Seattle Bankruptcy Lawyers Explaining Creditor Harassment

One of the worst aspects of finding yourself mired in financial problems in WA is that creditors are seemingly relentless in their pursuit of what they feel they are owed. After a certain point, people who simply do not have the money to pay bills are struck with fear every time they answer the phone or walk to the mail box. While creditors are entitled to take certain steps to attempt to collect debts, there are limits to what they can do. Those who find themselves in this situation need to seek the help of bankruptcy attorneys in Seattle as soon as possible to find a way out from these situations.

Below you’ll find information regarding what laws govern the process of collections, what types of steps and actions are allowed by creditors attempting to collect debts, what actions are not allowed by creditors and finally how you can put an end to all of these problems by seeking the help of Seattle bankruptcy protection lawyers who have been helping people through these problems for many years.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA, is a federal law that was originally passed in 1978 to govern the process of collecting debts from consumers. Specifically, the law was enacted to curb the practices of debt collectors that amounted to abuse and harassment. As such, the FDCPA is a law that applies in all jurisdictions and to all forms of unsecured consumer debts in Washington.

Basically, the law lays out what are allowed and even required actions by bill collectors and what is not allowed. If a bill collector violates the provisions of the FDCPA in efforts to collect a debt, that collector could be subject to remedies administered by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and could be subject to a lawsuit filed by a consumer in Washington State who has been treated unfairly under the terms of this law.

Collection Efforts Allowed and Required under the FDCPA

The FDCPA lays out conduct that is expected of bill collectors as they work to recapture their debts. Specifically, debt collectors are required to:

• Identify themselves as a collector
• Communicate to the WA consumer that they are calling to collect a debt
• Notify the WA consumer of their right to dispute the debt
• Provide written verification of the debt if requested
• File any legal actions in the proper venue or venues

If those requirements are met, creditors are allowed to pursue their debts by way of reasonable collection efforts. However, these reasonable collection efforts are subject to several limitations which are set out by the FDCPA.

Limitations on Collector Conduct

The FDCPA also lays out several actions that are not legal under this law, and they are the basis of what can constitute creditor harassment. A few examples of these actions include:

• Calling the consumer before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m. at the Washington consumer’s local time
• Purposely and repeatedly calling a phone simply to make it ring and to harass a consumer
• Misrepresenting facts or engaging in deceitful conduct
• Threatening arrest
• Threatening legal action when it would be invalid or is not being contemplated
• Revealing information regarding the debt to third parties such as neighbors or coworkers
• Using abusive language or profanity
• Refusing to verify a debt
• Deliberately embarrassing the consumer

Of course, there are many different specific forms of conduct that could be construed as violations of the FDCPA, but those actions will basically depend on the specifics involved.

If a Washington State consumer believes that a debt collector has violated the tenets of the FDCPA, he or she can report the violation in the form of a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission. Unfortunately, more than 75,000 such complaints are made every year, which means that it can take some time for the government to enforce the law on a specific collection agency. Therefore, many people take the option of suing the debt collector for damages with the help of a Seattle bankruptcy attorney.  If such a lawsuit is successful it could lead to an award of damages as well as the payment of bankruptcy attorney fees.

How to Put an End to Creditor Harassment with a Seattle Attorney

Of course, there is another option available for those in Washington who want the collection calls to stop and for the financial stress that’s making their lives miserable to end. Anyone who faces these issues should contact an experienced Seattle bankruptcy lawyer so that he or she can find out for themselves if filing for bankruptcy protection is a proper choice for them. If so and the case is filed, federal law requires that all collection efforts stop until the case is decided.

If you’ve had enough of the phone calls, letters and threats from creditors, take charge of your life once again and begin to work towards a final solution. Contact the Seattle, WA bankruptcy lawyers at Phillips Law Firm today to schedule a free initial consultation.