LOWE'S FINANCIAL

Do you need to sue a debt collector? Most debt collectors abide by the law when they are trying to collect money from consumers; but there are bad apples out there willing to use illegal tactics to try to get consumers to pay up. And sometimes that means that instead of worrying about a debt collector suing you, you should sue the debt collector.

It's important if a debt collector contacts you, to know what the collector can and can't do according to the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). If you believe that the debt collector has crossed the line and may be using illegal tactics to try to collect money from you, you may want to contact a local consumer law attorney with experience handling collection cases. After talking with you, the attorney may suggest that you sue the collector. (Your state may have its own debt collection law that is stronger and gives you more rights than the federal law. If you pursue a lawsuit, your attorney will file it using either the federal law or your state's law -- whichever is best for you.)

Here are some examples of when a debt collector has violated your rights under the FDCPA. The collector:

• Uses obscene, profane or abusive language when talking with you.

• Threatens you with violence

• Calls you repeatedly with the intent of harassing or annoying you. For example, the collector calls you over and over on a single day or multiple times during the same week.

• Threatens to ruin your credit forever, to tell your employer, your parents or someone else you know about the money you owe, or to throw you in jail.

• Threatens to garnish your wages, take your home or put liens on some of your assets without the legal authority to follow through on the threats. To do so, the debt collector must sue you and win the lawsuit first.

• Represents or implies that he is an attorney when he is not. However, some attorneys do collect debts for their clients - and if they do, they must abide by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

• Misrepresents the amount of the debt that you owe or tries to collect a debt that you already wiped out through a Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

• Continues contacting you after you've informed the debt collector that you do not want to be contacted about your debt again

• Keeps contacting you at work after you've told the collector that your employer does not want him to contact you on the job.

• Calls you before 8AM or after 9PM, unless you've told the collector that it's okay to call you then.

• Does not provide you with written verification of the debt he says you owe after you've asked for that information.

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