by Jonathan Summers

There’s accumulating proof in the form of lawsuits and complaints that some debt collection companies are using abusive and illegal ploys in an effort to debtors to pay up. Attorney Steve Halbert handles 30-50 cases at one time, representing clients who say they’re being harassed and even bullied by debt collection companies.

Halbert says, at a time when many can’t afford to pay the hundreds or thousands of dollars they owe in one lump sum, collectors are becoming less and less willing to work out a payment plan.”Now the collectors are saying we can’t do that,” said Halbert. “We’re only going to have this account for a short time. We need a lot of money and we need it up front, and we need it fast.”

Indiana Deputy Attorney General David Paetzmann say his office is given at least a dozen calls each week from people complaining about slanderous debt collectors. The number of calls has raised more than 20 percent from just 4 years ago.”We do keep track of the names of the collection agencies against whom we receive complaints, and there are some that we receive more complaints against than others,” said Paetzmann.

One of those businesses is Premiere Credit of North America. It’s named in two of the 6 lawsuits acquired by Fox 59 News.A representative for Premiere Credit says the company has “strict policies, training and monitoring against threats and harassments.”Paetzmann suggests consumers become accustom with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the legal limits it places on debt collectors.

“The collection agency is only supposed to contact people between eight o’clock in the morning and nine o’clock at night so people should be aware of those limitations,” said Paetzmann.

The act also prohibits debt collectors from deceitfully claiming they can arrest you or snag your property, talking about your debt with anyone else, and trying to collect any fee in addition to the amount owed.

About the Author:
Jonathan Summers works for a respectable collection corporation that specifies in debt collection and you will easily find my company at the top of any collection corporation listing

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Filed under: Law

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