How do I deal with Creditor Harassment?

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Hi, my name is Robert Geller. I am a consumer bankruptcy attorney in the Tampa Bay area. I want to tell you how you can deal with protecting yourself from creditor harassment. There are certain laws in the state of Florida and in federal laws that protect you from creditor harassment. One of the federal laws is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The FDCP Act requires that all creditors treat you with dignity, fairness, respect, and they must be truthful to you.

If the creditors do not follow these guidelines under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you can bring a claim against the creditor for $1,000 each time they violate one of these general provisions. Also under Florida law, we have a similar law to the fair debt collection practices act that protects you, and also requires creditors to treat you with dignity, fairness, respect, and they must be truthful to you.

Suing Creditors

Under Florida’s law, you can bring a claim against the creditor if they do not do what they’re supposed to do. Our law firm sues creditors when they step out of line. We turn the table on the creditors and make the creditors pay you if they violate these laws. One of the other things that you can do about creditor harassment is once you retain our law firm. If it’s for bankruptcy or for another matter related to your debt, you can tell the creditor that we represent you.

Once you tell a creditor that you are being represented about a consumer debt under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and under Florida’s law, we can bring a claim against the creditor for harassment. Once your bankruptcy is filed, an automatic stay is put into place. What that means is the creditor must immediately stop calling you and trying to collect from you. Under the bankruptcy law, if creditors continue to harass you after you ask them to stop, you can bring a claim against the creditor for violation of the automatic stay.

Violations

Finally, you’ll get your bankruptcy discharge. This comes, in a chapter 7, about three months after you file, or, in chapter 13, three to five years after you file. Once you get your bankruptcy discharge, creditors might try and collect from you, garnish you, sue you, or harass you. Under bankruptcy law, you can bring a claim against the creditor for violation of the bankruptcy discharge. Again, my name is Robert Geller, and if you need any information about bankruptcy, please click on the link. We’ll be glad to provide you information. I want to help you build a bridge to a brighter future. Thank you.