The procedures utilized in credit collections in Knoxville do not always represent the laws that govern them. In fact, many collection agencies violate these laws by aggressively harassing debtors in attempts to recover the debts. If you encounter collection agencies that violate your rights, you should consult an attorney to determine the most effective course of action that will cease these acts of aggression.
Outlining the Law
Legislation has been created to protect the interests of both creditors and you in terms of debt collection. While the creditor has the right to contact you concerning a debt, he or she does not have the right to harass you. There is fine line between collection-related communications and harassment. Creditors do not have the right to badger you or threaten you. If they do, then they are in violation of the law. Your creditors are additionally not allowed to visit your job for debt collection purposes without your permission.
Navigating Legal Channels
By law you have the right to request in writing that your creditors cease all phone-based communications. This request pertains to your home and work. You cannot request that the creditor cease written forms of communication unless the debt is invalid. If the debt is invalid, you must dispute it before you can take any form of alternative legal actions. To dispute the debt you may contact the creditor and acquire a dispute form to submit to their company, or you may dispute the debt through each credit-reporting agency in which the debt is listed.
Unfair Business Practices
In credit collections in Knoxville, you have the right to dispute the amount of any debt in which you owe. What you should realize is that third-party collection agency representatives work on commission. For this reason, the agency may increase the amount of the debt to counter-balance the rates in which they pay their employees.
You are only responsible for the original debt amount. The original value is the amount listed with the discharged debt listed by the original creditor. You may have a claim related to unfair business practices in the event that a third-party collection agency attempts to take legal action against you for inflated debt values.
