Stop Abusive Timeshare Debt Collectors.
With the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA for short), you have protection against unfair timeshare debt settlement practices.
The FDCPA is a vital piece of legislation that keeps you protected against unfair collections tactics. It helps ensure that while collectors can be aggressive in attempting to collect on an outstanding debt, they can only go so far with that aggression within the boundaries of the law.
Understanding the FDCPA.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was originally put into law in 1978 as part of the Consumer Credit Protection Act. It establishes standards of practices for collecting debts once they’ve been sold to a third-party collection agency. This includes all types of debts, including credit cards, car loans, mortgages, and even unpaid medical bills.
It also thoroughly defines the term “debt collector,” which by their definition, means “any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or the mails in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of any debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another.”
The following list provides a breakdown of the most essential regulations set in place by the FDCPA:
- Limits hours when collections can make phone calls. A collector cannot call you at all hours of the day and night. They can only call you between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM, local time.
- Gives restrictions to the number of calls that can be placed regarding a debt in a single day.
- Forbids third-party contact – so a collector is legally prohibited from contacting your employer, co-workers, friends, and family.
- Prohibits abusive or profane language during conversations, as well as threats of violence or physical harm.
- Forbids threats of arrest or legal action when no such action can be taken.
- Prohibits collectors from reporting false or embellished information on a consumer’s credit report.
- Restricts media communication to prevent embarrassing marks or symbols from being used on mail in an attempt to embarrass or humiliate the consumer.
- Makes it illegal for collectors to publish consumer names and addresses on “bad debt list” or other types of credit blacklists.
- Prohibits contact with a consumer who is known to have legal representation and/or a consumer who has lawfully provided written notice they wish to have no communication and refuse to pay.
What does the FDCPA really do?
Of course, if you are currently dealing with Timeshare debt collectors, you may be wondering just what benefits the FDCPA actually provides. After all, your Timeshare Debt collectors are probably calling every day to attempt to collect and use what can seem like every trick in the book to do it.
Unless a Timeshare Debt collector’s behavior violates one of the restrictions, their practice is considered fair. A creditor can absolutely call you every day, but they cannot call you forty times in one day. They can even threaten, but those threats have to fall within the limits of the law. So if the company is seeking a court order against you, they can tell you that… as long as it’s true.
An important aspect of the FDCPA to keep in mind is the validation of debt. According to these rules, Timeshare Debt collectors have to either tell you certain information about the timeshare debt or send it to you within 5 days of their initial communications.
The required information includes the amount of timeshare debt, the name of the creditor you owe it to, and statements that say:
- Unless you dispute the debt within 30 days of receiving this information, the collector will assume the debt is a valid debt.
- If you write to the collector within 30 days of disputing a debt, the collector will obtain and send to you the verification or copy of judgment concerning the debt.
- If you write a request to the collector within 30 days of dispute, the debt collector will send you the name and address of the consumer’s original creditor (if it’s different from the current collector).
Cease and Desist use For Timeshare Debt Collectors Template:
{Your Name}
{Address}
{Company Name}
{Company Address}
Re: Account Number
{currentdate}
To Whom It May Concern,
You are hereby notified under provisions of Public Laws 95-109 and 99-361, also known as the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, that your services are no longer desired.
Immediately cease and desist all attempts to collect the above debt. Failure to comply with this law will result in my immediately filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission and my local Attorney General, Civil and criminal claims will also be pursued against you and your company.
Let this letter also serve as your warning that I may utilize telephone recording devices in order to document any telephone conversations that we may have in the future.
Furthermore, if any negative information is placed on my credit bureau reports by your agency after receipt of this notice, this will cause me to file suit against you and your organization, both personally and corporately, to seek any and all legal remedies available to me by law.
It is my policy neither to recognize nor deal with collection agencies, and I will only settle this account with the original creditor.
Sincerely,
{Your signature}
____________________________
{Your name}