Debt collectors can only call you at work under limited circumstances. And once you tell a debt collector to stop calling you at work, the debt collector must stop.
Despite these restrictions under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), debt collectors calling a consumer at work can cause major problems. If you are receiving debt collection calls at work, here is what you need to know.
You can tell them to stop calling you at work
Debt collectors can call you at work. However, once you tell a debt collector to stop calling your work, they must stop. And you can make that request either over the phone or in writing.
In fact, if another employee, or your boss, tells a debt collector to stop calling you at work, they must stop calling as well. They don’t have to say anything special, the law states that once a debt collector knows you do not wish to receive calls at work, or if your employer prohibits them, the debt collector must stop.
If debt collector continues to keep calling you at work, the debt collector has violated the FDCPA.
Debt collectors cannot reveal your debt to your coworkers
Debt collectors cannot discuss your debt, or reveal your debt, to any of your coworkers.
For example, they cannot tell your coworker they are calling about your student loans, or claiming they are calling about a personal financial matter.
The debt collector must verify who they are speaking to before discussing the debt. For example, some employees share phones or phonelines at their workplace. If your coworker picks up the phone, and the debt collector does not confirm who they are and reveals your debt, the debt collector has violated the FDCPA.
Debt collectors cannot leave messages with coworkers
Debt collectors are only allowed to obtain or confirm location information when calling your employer. They can identify the name of their company, but only if someone asks for it.
There is nothing in the law that allows them to leave messages with your coworkers. Even if the message is vague, something like “personal business matter,” most people know that’s a debt collector calling.
Even if your coworker does not know who was calling, it can be embarrassing and uncomfortable when you have to explain to a coworker why you keep receiving strange calls from someone who will not identify themselves.
The law protects you against debt collection calls at work
If a debt collector calls you at work after you asked them to stop, the debt collector has broken the law. If a debt collector reveals your debt to one of your coworkers, the debt collector has broken the law. If a debt collector is leaving messages with your coworkers, they have broken the law.
You get the idea. Debt collection calls to a consumer’s workplace are a frequent area of violations of the FDCPA.
If a debt collector violates the FDCPA, you are entitled to monetary damages, and reasonable attorney fees and costs if your claim is successful. That means most consumer attorneys, like me, can handle the case on contingency. That means you pay nothing upfront out of your pocket, and I only get paid if your case is successful and I recover money for you.
Feel free to contact me today for a free case evaluation.