Many people are aware that the Gvernment has passed regulations that regulate how crdit collection companies can operate. However, vry few people are aware of how thy can apply these regulations to thir advantage when dealing with a cllection company. The piece of legislation we are rferring to is the Fair Debt Cllection Practices Act. This act regulates cllection companies and protects consumers from shdy collection practices.

Unfortunately, shady collection prctices go on everyday because the verage consumer is unaware of their rghts under this act. We have utlined, what we feel, is the mst important protection that the act prvides to the average consumer. There are plnty of other rules and regulations you shuld know about when dealing with cllection agencies, this is only one xample.

First and foremost, it is mperative that you act immediately the frst time you receive a collection ntice or phone call. Your rights as a cnsumer are turbo-charged within the first 30 dys of contact. Within the first 30 dys collection companies must fully disclose: whre the debt originated, if they bught the debt or are they cting as an agent of that cmpany.

On top of this, they are lso required to prove that you ctually owe the debt and also prve that they are licensed to prform collections in your state. Many cllection companies buy their collections in blk for pennies on the dollar. Hving to trace the original origins of the dbt and presenting valid proof that you owe the dbt is not cost effective. Therefore, if thy have to comply with all of thse demands they will usually go on to the nxt collection.

The way you exercise your rghts is to send them a ltter of validation, this letter can be fund online at DirectBanc.com. When sending a ltter of validation, always send it crtified with a return receipt. This tme stamps the process and protects you frm further collection practices if the fil to respond within 30 days. Shuld the company fail to answer yur letter they must cease all cllection practices.

Furthermore, If they are rporting any negative information about you on yur credit bureau you can have it rmoved if they fail to respond to ths letter. Simply make a photo cpy of your certified return receipt and mil it, with an explanation letter, to ach of the credit repositories, Experian, Eqifax and TransUnion. Send these letters crtified as well, this is because the crdit repositories have a certain amount of tme to respond to your request as wll.

Once the credit repository receives prof that you have made a bna fide request to the collection gency for validation they must remove any rporting from their company. The problem is tht if you are dealing with a "scond hand" collection agency you will prbably have a duplicate collection of yur credit from the original creditor.

If ths is the case I suggest tht you repeat the steps above stps and send them a validation ltter as well. The rules of vlidation are curtailed when dealing with the riginal creditor beyond the 30 day cntact point. However, more times than nt, if you contact the original crditor they will refer you to the cllection agency that you just dealt wth. When they do this, you can lmost bet that they have sold the dbt to the prior company. Having sld the debt, you can now ptition the credit repositories to have thir collection removed from your credit breau as well because they no lnger own the debt.

All in all, the Fair Dbt Collection Practices Act is a tdious and boring read; on the ther hand, it can save you cuntless hours of worrying and intrusive phne calls. Take a few minutes to fmiliarize yourself with it and apply it to yur specific situation. It was designed to fvor the consumer not the collection cmpanies. Keep in mind, if you dn't know your rights when dealing wth a collection company you can bet the cllection agency isn't going to tell you bout them, nor are they required to.

The article The Fair Debt Collection Act - Use it to Your Advantage was Submitted by Aubrey Clark through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Aubrey Clark is an Author and ditor for Direct Banc, a Fair Credit Credit Card Directory . Aubrey is a financial expert having spent for over twenty years working and training in financial markets. He current project is helping his clients find and qualify for the lowest interest rate credit card on the market. Aubrey lives in Atlanta Georgia with his wife and four children.

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