What types of debt collection practices are prohibited under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?
--Use of threats of violence or harm against the person, property, or reputation
--Publishing a list of consumers who refuse to pay their debts or advertise your debt (except to a credit bureau) or give false information about you to anyone
--Repeatedly using the telephone to annoy someone or telephone people without identifying themselves
--Falsely implying that they are attorneys or government representatives or misrepresent the involvement of an attorney in collecting a debt
--Falsely implying that you have committed a crime and will be arrested if you do not pay your debt
--Giving a false name when they contact you or falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit bureau
--Misrepresenting the amount of your debt or claim they will seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages, unless the collection agency or creditor intends to do so, and it is legal to do so
--Indicating that papers being sent to you are legal forms when they are not or indicate that papers being sent to you are not legal forms when they are or send you anything that looks like an official document from a court or government agency when it is not
--Claiming that actions, such as a lawsuit, will be taken against you, which legally may not be taken, or which they do not intend to take.
--Collecting any amount greater than your debt, unless allowed by law
--Using obscene or profane language
--Depositing a post-dated check prematurely
--Taking or threatening to take your property unless this can be done legally
--Making you accept collect calls or contacting you by postcard
--Calling your employer, neighbors, friends and relatives and revealing your delinquency to them [A delinquency can be revealed to a co-signor.]
