Rules of the (Collection) Road: What Collectors Can and Can’t Do
Mark L. Rosen, Esquire
The federal Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) has very strict requirements regarding communications related to the collection of a debt or judgment. Contact with third parties is prohibited. For example, a collector is not allowed to call a debtor’s family to tell them that their relative is a no-good deadbeat. Nor are collectors allowed to call to ask things like, “Why did you hire such a loser?” The law does allow creditors to communicate with debtors for matters related to garnishment or other court-permitted activities, however.
When contacting a debtor directly, a collector may not make contact at any unusual time or place, or at a time or place the collector knows would be inconvenient to the debtor. More specifically, the law states that “in the absence of knowledge of circumstances to the contrary, a debt collector shall assume that the convenient time for communicating with a consumer is after 8:00 a.m. and before 9:00 p.m.” Further, no contact is allowed “at the consumer’s place of employment if the debt collector knows or has reason to know that the consumer’s employer prohibits the consumer from receiving such communication.” In addition, a collector cannot contact a debtor if the debtor is represented by an attorney.
Florida has adopted its own fair debt collection legislation, which closely follows the federal law. According to Florida Statutes, the content of the communications also is regulated. Specific prohibitions include the following: 1. The use or threat of use of violence or other criminal means to harm the physical person, reputation, or property of any person; 2. The use of obscene or profane language or language the natural consequence of which is to abuse the hearer or reader; 3. The publication of a list of consumers who allegedly refuse to pay debts; 4. The advertisement for sale of any debt to coerce payment of the debt; and 5. Causing a telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass any person at the called number.
It’s important to note that FDCPA applies only to debt collectors and not the original debtors themselves. For example, FDCPA restrictions don’t apply if a plaintiff (a patient and/or the patient’s family) calls your home to harass you. Changing your phone number is probably your best option. However, the attorney who represented the patient (and who is now trying to get his or her fee) is considered a collector under FDCPA and must comply with the law or face stiff penalties.