Expert: Chris Ebert - 7/28/2010

Question
About a month ago I received a call from a collection agency wanting to collect on a debt I incurred about 2yrs ago. To make a long story short, I explained that I was not financially able and further more did not have the credit card numbers to make sure it was mine to begin with, but he told me that they were getting ready to sue me and that meant garnishment of wages, seizure of property and or other possible means necessary to collect. My only option was to give him post dated checks before I hung up with him or else. Dumb me I gave him the post dated checks knowing very well that would place me in trouble with my bank. Sure enough, when they collected it caused all my other bills to overdraft my account. My bank charged me $35 for each check that went over, thus forcing me to close my account. They have tried to collect this month again but the account is closed and they have relentlessly harassed everyone with the same last name as mine as well as my neighbors. What can I do? Do I have any rights/options?

Answer
Lupita,

I am sorry that this is happening to you. It seems like they have violated the FDCPA on several occasions.

1) First, they can not threaten to sue unless they normally do so in the course of business. If a creditor sues you then they sue you. Do not do something you know you are going to regret just not to face the lawsuit.

2) Second, they can not ask for post dated checks. Never ever do this. Your gut was right when it told you not to do it.

3) Third, you have indicated that they have told other people about your debt. This is called third party disclosure and is a big no-no. They can not tell other people about your debts.

Now comes what to do about all of this. You can either hire a local attorney by contacting us or going to http://www.naca.net OR you can attempt to resolve this yourself.

a) An attorney may accept a case on a contingency basis for the how this company has wronged you. Of course this is going to depend on a lot more facts than you have described here. You may be able to collect on damages and deal with the creditor at the same time.

b) If you want to deal with this yourself, we have some sample letters and a video on how to do it yourself at:
http://www.henleycreditlaw.com/diy-credit-repair/

I wish you the best of luck

Chris Ebert
http://www.henleycreditlaw.com