THE ROLE OF DEBT COLLECTORS

Debt collectors may not harass you, which means that they may not use threats of violence, threaten to ruin your reputation, advertise or publish your debt, use obscene or profane language, or phone repeatedly just to annoy you. Debt collectors may not make false statements in order to collect a debt. They are not allowed to Use a false name when contacting you or others or falsely imply that they are attorneys or government agents.

Falsely imply that you have committed a crime or state that papers being sent are legal forms if they are not Misrepresent the amount of your debt or give false credit information about you to anyone .Say that the nonpayment of debt will result in arrest, garnishment (a legal procedure whereby part of your wages are withheld to satisfy a creditor), attachment (seizure by legal process of property or funds), or similar unless they intend to take legal action (if they intend to take legal action, however, these are possible outcomes) Threaten to take any action that cannot legally be taken.

Unfair practices are also prohibited, which means that collection agencies may not Collect more money than you owe Make you accept collect calls. Deposit a postdated check before the date on the check.

Commercial banks, sometimes called full-service banks,are the most widely used financial institutions in the United States. There are somewhere around 13,000different commercial banks operating. That's down considerably from the banking heyday of the 1920s, when there were about 31,000different banks.The U.S. banking system is federally operated, but it has 50 state jurisdictions, each with its own
regulatory and operating procedures.Commercial banks are permitted to take deposits, loan money, and provide other banking services. They canhave either a federal or state charter and are regulated accordingly. Those with federal charters are regulated by the federal Comptroller of the Currency. Federally chartered banks must be members of the FederalReserve system and the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC), which the bank pays to individual bank deposits.

Banks first became regulated in 1863, smack in the middle of the Civil War. Today'sregulations are still based on that 1863 legislation, called the National Banking Act. The act was instated to cover five areas of banking: deposit taking, foreign exchange trading, lending, issuance ofnotes, and negotiating or discounting promissory notes. Other areas of regulations have been added sincethe original banking act, and some of the original regulations have become obsolete.

Add on finance charges or service fees in collecting a debt unless you authorized the extra charge in the agreement that created the debt .If a debt collector represents several of your creditors, you may specify to which accounts payments should be applied.
If you don't want to hear further from a collection agency about a debt that you cannot currently pay, you can write a letter stating that you want the agency to stop contacting you. (Be sure to keep a copy for your fles.) As soon as the agency receives such a letter, it must stop all communication except to notify you that it received the letter and to notify you when any action will be taken.

Your letter should be businesslike. Address the letter to the individual who is your primary contact at the agency. Include the date, your full name, and your account number before the salutation. The body of the letter should acknowledge that they have contacted you and explain that you are unable to pay the bill(s) at this time. Then note that you are aware of your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and ask that, as provided by the act, you are giving them formal notice that you wish to have them discontinue communications. Close with "Sincerely," and sign your name.

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