You can sue under the FDCPA even if you owe the debt

June 4, 2009 by Todd Murray · Leave a Comment 

moneyI’m often asked whether a consumer can sue a debt collector under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) if they owe the underlying debt. The answer is a resounding YES! The main purpose of the FDCPA is to protect all consumers against debt collection abuses, whether they owe the underlying debt or not. In fact, most people who sue debt collectors under the FDCPA owe the debt.

The FDCPA prohibits abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices. Some of the more common debt collection practices prohibited by the FDCPA are:

  • informing third parties that you owe a debt;
  • contacting you at inconvenient times or contacting you at work after you’ve told the debt collector not to;
  • threatening you with violence;
  • using abusive or profane language;
  • threatening to take legal action when the debt collector has no intent to do so;
  • falsely implying that you committed a crime by not paying the debt.

If a debt collector violates the FDCPA, you have the right to sue the debt collector and recover damages. You are entitled to $1,000 in statutory damages and compensation for actual damages, such as emotional distress. And if your case is successful, the debt collector must pay your attorney fees. Because of this, most consumer lawyers will accept a FDCPA case on a contingency fee arrangement. This usually means you will not have to pay any attorney fees, unless your case is successful.

If you’re dealing with debt collectors, make sure to download and use my free debt collection call log so that you can document all of the debt collectors’ communications. And if the debt collector does anything that you think was unfair; untrue; or harassing, oppressive, or abusive, please contact me to discuss the situation further. I offer a free case review for all FDCPA cases and if I agree to handle your case, you won’t have to pay me any money up front. My fees come from the money I recover from you if you win your case or accept a negotiated settlement.

(photo: AMagill)

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Filed under All, Collection harassment · Tagged with , , , , ,

About Todd Murray
I'm a consumer rights lawyer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I sue debt collectors that harass and abuse people, defend debt collection lawsuits, and sue repossession companies that wrongfully repossess cars and trucks.

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