Fair Debt Collection Practices in Indiana

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As a consumer rights attorney, Mr. Lewis works dilligently to ensure that consumer debtors are not taken advantage of by unscrupulous creditors that employ abusive collection tactics. 

If you are being threatened or harassed by a debt collector, you may have the right to seek relief for violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Relief available under the FDCPA may include compensation for losses suffered as a result of the violation(s), monetary sanctions provided by statute, and the reasonable attorney fees and court costs associated with bringing and prosecuting the action in court. 

The FDCPA was enacted to protect consumer debtors from unfair debt collection practices. Under the law, some of the prohibited conduct of debt collectors includes:

• using insults, threats, or obscenities
• calling at an inconvenient time after already being notified not to call at such time(s) or calling late at night or extremely early in the morning
• pursuing collection fees or interest charges not specified in contract or otherwise prohibited by law
• continuing to contact the debtor for the purpose of gathering information after being notified in writing from the debtor to cease
• causing your telephone to ring so much as to implicitly annoy or harass
• calling you at work after being told to refrain from doing so
• using misrepresentations or mischaracterizations to try and collect the debt
• revealing or discussing your debt with unauthorized third parties
• threatening legal action(s) or otherwise for which no such intent is contemplated
• non-compliance with mandatory disclosures
• failure to identify themselves in communication
• failure to provide verification of debt upon receipt of written request

The above is not an exhaustive list, but if any of the above actions have happened to you, you may have legal rights to seek monetary remedy from the debt collector. Mr. Lewis will advise you if you have a case and what would be the best course of action.

If you believe you are being treated unfairly by a debt collector, you should:

• keep good record(s) of who called, any identifying information, and what was said
• the dates/times of phone calls
• names of any and all persons involved
• letter and original envelope of mailings that may be violative of the law
• keep voicemails and other similar messages

Contact Lewis Legal Services, P.C. for advice on whether your rights have been infringed and whether you have a case to seek just compensation. The FDCPA has a short "statute of limitations" that limits the time in which a lawsuit may be initiated after the occurrence of a violation, so if you believe you were not treated in accordance with the law, do not sleep on your rights - contact us today.