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Creditors must treat each person with dignity, respect, fairness and honesty. Many people are called repeatedly at home and at work. The creditors call neighbors and family to embarrass the person. The creditors call at strange hours of the day or night when they are not allowed. The creditors call employers to embarrass the debtor. Worst of all, people are threatened by some desperate creditors, even wrongfully told that they can go to jail if they do not pay their debt. The Law Offices of Robert M. Geller, P.A. will not allow our clients to be treated this way. There are two ways to stop this form of harassment.
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)/Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA)
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA) are laws that protect you — the consumer. In an effort to promote fair consumer debt collection practices, these laws explicitly define abusive debt collection practices which are prohibited, and provide legal recourse for debtors who have endured unlawful creditor harassment under the law.
It Is Illegal for Creditors To:
- Contact you directly after they know you have an attorney
- Contact you early in the morning or late at night
- Contact you at work after you have directed them not to
- Contact your neighbors or co-workers about the nature of your debts
- Use abusive or profane language when calling you
- Threaten you with lawsuits or threaten you will go to jail for not paying a debt
What We Can Do
Our firm sues creditors for harassment. Under the law, if a creditor does not treat you properly, you may be entitled to collect statutory damages against the creditor.
How We Get Paid
You do not have to pay us out of your pocket before we bring a suit against the creditors. Our lawyers handle these types of cases on a contingency fee basis. That means that until there is a recovery you pay us no fees. Our fees come from the proceeds of the recovery.
How Filing Bankruptcy Stops Creditor Harassment
Once you submit the required paperwork to the bankruptcy court, the court issues an automatic stay. This is like a restraining order against your creditors, and prevents them from contacting you to recover money, seize your property, or place liens on your home. We have seen the relief that clients experience when they are no longer bothered by creditors.
There are some exceptions to the automatic stay. As an example, the stay may not stop criminal proceedings, tax proceedings, child support lawsuits, or eviction proceedings. There are other circumstances that are exempt from the provisions of the automatic stay; our lawyers can advise you.
Contact Our Consumer Rights and Bankruptcy Lawyer
To learn more about the FDCPA or FCCPA, the automatic stay, and how to stop creditor harassment, contact our Tampa creditor harassment and consumer debt collection law firm. Call us at 813-217-5663 to schedule a free initial consultation. Attorney Robert M. Geller is a certified specialist in Consumer Bankruptcy Law by the American Board of Certification *.
We are a debt relief agency. We help people file for bankruptcy relief under the Bankruptcy Code.
* Accredited by The Florida Bar to certify lawyers in the specialty area(s) of consumer bankruptcy law.
