What is Creditor Harassment?

 Posted on September 05, 2024 in Creditor Harassment

Both Texas state law and the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act protect debtors against unfair, abusive, or excessively annoying conduct by creditors. Just because you owe money does not mean that you deserve to be harassed by your creditors. In fact, if one of your creditors is harassing you, they may be breaking the law. While most people are sometimes annoyed by a creditor's attempts to collect a debt, there are limits on what a creditor can do in an effort to get paid. A Houston, TX debt relief attorney may be able to help you not only take steps to stop the harassment, but work towards your ultimate goal of complete debt relief.

Examples of Creditor Harassment 

While creditors can generally contact you - even repeatedly - there are limits regarding when and where they can attempt to make contact. Examples of creditor harassment include:

• Late night and early morning phone calls - Creditors should not call to debtors before eight o’clock in the morning or after nine o’clock at night. During these hours, people may be sleeping. Intentionally waking people up early in the morning or late at night in an attempt to collect a debt is harassment, especially if it happens repeatedly. 
• Calling you at work - Your creditors are not permitted to call you at work if they have reason to believe your employers do not permit employees to accept these kinds of calls during business hours. Calling you at work means using your employer’s phone number, not simply calling you on your personal cell phone while you happen to be at work. Creditors often do this with the intention of embarrassing the debtor by making his or her employer aware that he or she owes money. 
• Publicizing your debt - Creditors may not seek to embarrass a debtor by publishing or publicizing his or her name and the fact that he or she owes a debt other than by reporting the debt to qualified credit reporting agencies. 
• Using obscene or profane language - Creditors may not curse at you or use foul language when contacting you about your debt. 
• Making an excessive number of phone calls - If your creditor is making so many phone calls that you have resorted to unplugging your landline or turning your cell phone off just so you can have a break from the constant calls, the creditor is likely harassing you. 

Contact a Houston, TX Debt Relief Attorney

The Fealy Law Firm, PC is committed to protecting debtors against the abusive practices used by some creditors. Harris County, TX debt relief lawyer Vicky Fealy has more than 30 years of experience helping people find relief from crushing debt. Contact us at 713-526-5220 for a complimentary consultation.