The debt collectors generally have two subtle weapons in their arsenal: arrogance and fear. Many people are always wary of incoming calls at midnight and unwanted confrontations on office premises.
Over time, these individuals have built up an image of being rude and scary when it pertains to their borrowers’ payments. However, there are always limits and restrictions, even during these tricky times.
The market size of the Debt Collection industry in Australia has declined 5.1% per year on average between 2018 and 2023.
However, since there is always pressure, customers have to know the regulations and responsibilities to tackle the issues properly and avoid embarrassing situations.
While having debt recovery lawyers Perth is a great way to handle these sensitive issues effortlessly, one should understand these common responsibilities and rights mentioned below.
The authorities prohibit these individuals from pretending to work for any government agencies, including law enforcement. They cannot even claim to work in a consumer reporting company.
The debt collectors are not authorized to pretend to be police officers and threaten individuals for arrest or press criminal charges against them if they do not repay their debts. The law stops them from posing as state or federal government agencies.
Authorities require the debt collectors to notify you in writing within five days of their conversation, furnishing details of the debt they are attempting to collect and steps you can consider to dispute the debt.
Additionally, they are also required to provide you 30 days from receipt of their alert to request additional data about the debt or challenge the amount they are attempting to collect. Every litigation lawyers Perth urges you to refrain from reporting a collection account to the national credit bureaus for those 30 days.
These people require written proof that you owe the money; otherwise, they have no reason to go about the process of debt collection. Remember, attempting to contact a debtor various times in a single day or an excessive number of times is considered harassment.
Also, creditors might not go after you on your social handles or confront and even embarrass you in public places. And you should not entertain the use of any kind of threatening and aggressive language or physical violence from the collectors.
The collection agencies are also not authorized to falsely claim that you have committed any sort of crime or imply that you will be arrested if you do not proceed to pay the sum you owe.
Firstly, the collection companies cannot proceed with arrest warrants or have you in jail. Other than that, being unable to repay a credit card bet, loan, or mortgage promptly does not land you in prison just like that.
However, if you receive any order from the court that expects your presence and fails to show up, a judge may proceed with a warrant for the arrest.
Consider reading the alert or warning message that the collector has provided you cautiously. Try to notice if the debt is yours. If it is not or you have already paid the debt, you may ask the collector to offer evidence that you owe the money by sending a ‘debt validation letter.’
The collectors will be persistent until the debt is paid. Ignoring valid debts will impact your credit score. You must communicate with them but do not reveal any information from you first. The key is to listen and even record the conversation for your reference. If you feel like you need expert assistance, then do not hesitate to call in the best commercial litigation lawyer.
With this, we end our blog today. We have discussed your rights in debt collection and things that the recovery agents can’t do. Ensure you keep your composure next time you receive any uncertain calls at midnight or have any entity visiting your office. Have the assistance of the best lawyer by your side and the peace of mind you deserve.