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Local Voices

Community Update

As the end of the year approaches it is a good time for all
of us to reflect on our 2013 New Year’s resolutions. Whether that resolution was
to pay down your mortgage, go on more vacations, spend more time with the
family etc. . it is important to reflect on those stumbling blocks that made it
difficult or impossible to follow through on last year’s resolution. Finding
and removing that stumbling block will go a long way in making 2014 a more
successful year.



If medical bills, credit card debt, or the like was one of those stumbling blocks,
this blog can go a long way on the process to help you remove that stumbling
block.



The FAIR DEBT
COLLECTION PRACTICE ACT
(“FDCPA”) is a federal law enacted to protect
consumers against collection agencies. The law entitles the consumer to up to
$1,000.00 in statutory fees, whether you owe the money or not, plus attorney
fees.  In certain cases the consumer is
also able to get the debt waived and have the debt removed from their credit
report.



What you the consumer need to do if you are in collections:

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1.      
Save all your letters



2.      
Save any and all of your voicemails

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3.      
Record all phone conversations



4.      
Dispute that you owe the debt (whether this is
true or not this will go a long way in stopping the harassment).



Common violations include –



1.      
Calls at strange times



2.      
Telling a third party about your debt



3.      
Leaving a message on your phone without saying
it’s from a debt collector



4.      
Making false statements



5.      
Making threats



6.      
Not notifying you of your right to verify and
dispute the bill



Marcus Law, LLC is a consumer rights law firm. If you have any questions feel free to email the author at ari@marcuslawnj.com.



Wishing everyone and happy and healthy new years.  






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The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?