When a debt is turned over to a collection agency, rules of law still specify your rights and govern the actions of debt collectors.
Your rights:
- A debt collector must send you a letter within five days after calling you spelling out how much you owe, to whom you owe it and how long you have to dispute the debt.
- You have 30 days from the date you are contacted by the debt collector to send the collector a letter disputing the debt and specifically requesting verification of it.
- Whether or not you owe the debt, you can tell debt collectors in writing not to contact you again. That doesn’t eliminate the debt.
DEBT COLLECTORS CAN’T:
- Harass or use obscene words when talking to you.
- Contact you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
- Contact you without identifying themselves.
- Tell others about your debt.
- Contact you at work if your employer disapproves.
- Threaten you with arrest or jail time.
Problem with a debt collector?
- You can file a complaint, with the Ohio attorney general’s office at 1-800-282-0515 and with the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-382-4357. You also may do so through the agencies’ websites at http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/consumercomplaint or https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov.
Browning & Meyer Co., LPA is a law office with more than 60 years of experience in the firm’s specialized areas of practice, which include estate planning, elder law, estate administration, probate administration, trust administration, asset preservation, tax planning, guardianships, special needs planning, and Medicaid eligibility planning and litigation. We have the ability to offer a wide array of legal services to assist you and your family as you move through the stages of life.