When Creditors Try to Deceive You – Contact a Lawyer

When you fall behind on paying your bills, you can anticipate receiving letters or calls from your creditors to collect on the debt.  Thanks to state and federal laws, creditors and debt collectors must follow certain rules on how to behave when collecting debts.

What’s the difference between the Fair Business Practices Act and the FCEUA?

The Fair Credit Extension Uniformity Act (FCEUA) deals with the way creditors relate to and communicate with debtors in Pennsylvania. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is the federal law that governs the way debt collectors communicate with debtors. When a creditor or debt collector violates the FDCPA or the FCEUA, both laws contain provisions that allow you to be compensated for the damages.

Does the FCEUA apply to all debt collectors?

The FCEUA applies to creditors who collect their own debts and, because a portion of the statute incorporates the Federal law may also apply to debt collectors—businesses who collect debts on behalf of the creditor.

What are deceptive acts under the FCEUA?

Under the state law, creditors are forbidden to engage in unfair procedures. When trying to collect on a debt, creditors and debt collectors cannot lie to you. For example, they may not:

• falsely pose as attorneys or government agents
• falsely state that you have broken a law
• falsely state that they work for a credit reporting company
• misrepresent the total amount you owe
• mislead you to think that the documents they send are legal forms if they are not or not legal if they are

Illegal statements that debt collectors and creditors may not use:

Illegal statements that debt collectors may not use when attempting to recover a debt include threats that:

• if you don’t pay your debts you will be arrested
• they will garnish, seize, attach your wages or sell your property unless the threatened action is actually permitted by law and they intend to take the action
• they will pursue legal action against you, if the action would be considered illegal or if they don’t intend to take the action.

Creditors or debt collectors who violate any of the provisions of the FCEUA are subject to sanctions.  You can sue them for damages and attorney’s fees.

The qualified attorneys at Harold Shepley and Associates have the experience you’ll need to go against creditors who use illegal tactics to collect debts. Contact us for a free consultation. The only thing you have to lose is your debt.

By Harold Shepley | Published August 29, 2013 | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged debt relief law firm, fair credit extension uniformity act, fair debt collection practices act, Pennsylvania debt relief attorneys | Leave a comment