There
are plenty of reasons why choosing to work with a responsible collection firm
is a wise decision. Not only are responsible collection tactics less
distasteful than the “thug tactics” employed by many collection agencies, but
relatively respectful collection tactics are more likely to produce favorable
outcomes with your debtors as well. There’s a third, even more important and
even more practical reason to choose a collection agency that does NOT utilize
inappropriate tactics- there are laws against the most common debt collection
harassment tactics.
At a
very base level a collection professional needs to be polite and respectful to
the debtors they speak with. Collection agents aren’t allowed to bully or
otherwise act in an excessively rude manner to the debtors on their lists.
While a collection professional isn’t likely to be reported if they speak in a
manner a debtor considers “rude” or “disrespectful,”such a manner will hurt
your case if your debtor’s account goes to court.
One
of the most common forms of harassing behavior utilized by debt collectors is a
continuous string of phone calls at inappropriate times. Now, there’s nothing
wrong, illegal or immoral about calling a debtor about the money they owe. But
legally speaking a collection agent can only make these calls during a range of
hours that have been clearly defined according to state and federal law. The
laws dictating when a collection agency can call a debtor differ from state to
state, and if an agent repeatedly makes calls during prohibited hours they can
be sued for harassment.
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