How Do I Stop Creditors Harassment

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Christy Thompson has 36 Published Articles

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How Do I Stop Creditors Harassment

Posted On : Sep-20-2010 | seen (854) times | Article Word Count : 732 |

Phoenix Bankruptcy Lawyer Christy Thompson describes how you can stop creditors from harassing you.

For those contemplating bankruptcy or going into bankruptcy there is the possibility that creditors may harass you. In this article we will look at how to stop the creditor’s harassing you before you file your bankruptcy.

Harassment is a little different in each state. Arizona views harassment under its own Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that it’s adopted. That’s where you can stop the phone calls between you and the creditors, again which is by contacting them in writing.

When you write that to them, you can, if you feel that they’re harassing you, they’re contacting you after 8 o’clock at night or they’re contacting you before 8 o’clock in the morning. And, they have ignored the letter that you’ve sent. You can step up your request that they cease all communication with you by phone under Arizona’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

You can do that a couple of different ways. You can retain an attorney who then will notify the creditors and tell them that you’re represented by an attorney; they can then only contact that attorney.

You can also write them a cease and desist letter that instructs them that they are no longer allowed to contact you except at a certain address. Then you can make sure that it is your home address or, if you choose to, you can make that your PO Box address.

Then finally you can write them and say that you refuse to pay the debt and then you can outline the reasons why. For some reason and for some people that reason can be they don’t owe the debt or they question the amount of the debt. When you question the amount of the debt, you’re actually disputing the debt and that’s an important thing to do.

So your first step, if you feel that you’re being harassed by a creditor, should be to dispute the debt And what I mean by that is, question their right to collect it. They then have an obligation as a creditor to provide you with the proof, the documentation; they have that says you actually own this debt.

So say, for example, I take out a Visa card and I fall behind in my payments. Visa sells the debt. That creditor then buys the debt, but I don’t have any proof of that. I’m entitled to find out what Visa sold and who purchased it and if it was actually my debt that was sold.

There should be with that particular creditor who is now harassing me, they should have my original credit application and they should have proof of how the debt came to be. Meaning, all the charges that I made, all the interest that was collected.

The first step when you feel like you’re being harassed is to start disputing that debt. Find out exactly how much you owe and why you owe it, and that the creditor attempting to collect it from you has that proof.

The next step, if they’re continually harassing you after that, is to either obtain counsel or to write them a cease and desist letter, instructing that they only can contact you at a particular address.

Now you’re writing these because they’re harassing you. So remember, as we discussed before, harassment can equal penalties. That can be your actual damages, it could be emotional distress or it could be lost wages if they’re contacting you at work and your employer becomes upset with you. It can be your attorney’s fees. It can be court costs.
If you think that you’re being harassed and you want to build a case against the creditor for the harassment, take these steps.

Once you’ve taken these steps--you’ve written these letters and they’ve not been able to provide you proof--actually, in your bankruptcy case, you can sue these same creditors and you can collect penalties for $1000 per each time they’ve harassed you and any actual damages after that.

So you can actually defend yourself and get rid of some of these creditors. Not in the sense of that the debt goes away. But you can stop the harassment.

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<h1>How Do I Stop Creditors Harassment</h1> Author: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/profile_Christy Thompson.aspx'>Christy Thompson</a> For those contemplating bankruptcy or going into bankruptcy there is the possibility that creditors may harass you. In this article we will look at how to stop the creditor’s harassing you before you file your bankruptcy.

Harassment is a little different in each state.  Arizona views harassment under its own Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that it’s adopted.  That’s where you can stop the phone calls between you and the creditors, again which is by contacting them in writing.

When you write that to them, you can, if you feel that they’re harassing you, they’re contacting you after 8 o’clock at night or they’re contacting you before 8 o’clock in the morning.  And, they have ignored the letter that you’ve sent.  You can step up your request that they cease all communication with you by phone under Arizona’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

You can do that a couple of different ways.  You can retain an attorney who then will notify the creditors and tell them that you’re represented by an attorney; they can then only contact that attorney.

You can also write them a cease and desist letter that instructs them that they are no longer allowed to contact you except at a certain address.  Then you can make sure that it is your home address or, if you choose to, you can make that your PO Box address.

Then finally you can write them and say that you refuse to pay the debt and then you can outline the reasons why.  For some reason and for some people that reason can be they don’t owe the debt or they question the amount of the debt.  When you question the amount of the debt, you’re actually disputing the debt and that’s an important thing to do.

So your first step, if you feel that you’re being harassed by a creditor, should be to dispute the debt And what I mean by that is, question their right to collect it.  They then have an obligation as a creditor to provide you with the proof, the documentation; they have that says you actually own this debt.

So say, for example, I take out a Visa card and I fall behind in my payments.  Visa sells the debt.  That creditor then buys the debt, but I don’t have any proof of that.  I’m entitled to find out what Visa sold and who purchased it and if it was actually my debt that was sold.

There should be with that particular creditor who is now harassing me, they should have my original credit application and they should have proof of how the debt came to be.  Meaning, all the charges that I made, all the interest that was collected.

The first step when you feel like you’re being harassed is to start disputing that debt.  Find out exactly how much you owe and why you owe it, and that the creditor attempting to collect it from you has that proof.

The next step, if they’re continually harassing you after that, is to either obtain counsel or to write them a cease and desist letter, instructing that they only can contact you at a particular address.

Now you’re writing these because they’re harassing you.  So remember, as we discussed before, harassment can equal penalties.  That can be your actual damages, it could be emotional distress or it could be lost wages if they’re contacting you at work and your employer becomes upset with you.  It can be your attorney’s fees.  It can be court costs.
If you think that you’re being harassed and you want to build a case against the creditor for the harassment, take these steps.

Once you’ve taken these steps--you’ve written these letters and they’ve not been able to provide you proof--actually, in your bankruptcy case, you can sue these same creditors and you can collect penalties for $1000 per each time they’ve harassed you and any actual damages after that.

So you can actually defend yourself and get rid of some of these creditors. Not in the sense of that the debt goes away. But you can stop the harassment.About the Author: To get additional information on debt settlement and bankruptcy options please visit our web site. We would also like to offer you a free online debt evaluation. You can claim your free online debt evaluation at <a rel="nofollow" href="http://arizonalegaladvocacy.com"> http://arizonalegaladvocacy.com </a>

Christy Thompson, your <a rel="nofollow" href="http://arizonalegaladvocacy.com"> Phoenix Bankruptcy Lawyer </a> Article Source: <a href='http://www.articleseen.com/Article_How-Do-I-Stop-Creditors-Harassment_33716.aspx'> http://www.articleseen.com/Article_How Do I Stop Creditors Harassment_33716.aspx</a>

Article Source : http://www.articleseen.com/Article_How Do I Stop Creditors Harassment_33716.aspx

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To get additional information on debt settlement and bankruptcy options please visit our web site. We would also like to offer you a free online debt evaluation. You can claim your free online debt evaluation at http://arizonalegaladvocacy.com

Christy Thompson, your Phoenix Bankruptcy Lawyer

Keywords : Phoenix bankruptcy lawyer, phoenix bankruptcy attorney, Arizona bankruptcy lawyer, Arizona bankruptcy attorney, Arizona bankr,

Category : Finance : Debt Consolidation

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