You are about to attend an afternoon business meeting when your work desk phone rings. Thinking the call is from a colleague, you quickly pick up the receiver only to discover that it is not a colleague, but instead, it is a representative from Atlantic Credit & Finance.
Dumbfounded about how the debt collection agency found your work number, you hastily hang up on the third party debt collector and slump into your chair.
A bill collector like Atlantic Credit & Finance will continue to call you at work until you agree to pay off a delinquent credit card or personal loan balance. There is not a federal law prohibiting debt collection agencies from making phone calls to consumers at work.
However, you can end work phone calls placed by a third party debt collector by invoking the “reason to know” clause in the 1977 consumer protection law called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).
The landmark federal law grants consumers the power to tell bill collectors that their employer forbids debt collection agency phone calls in the workplace.
FDCPA Methods to Stop Debt Collection Agency Phone Calls
“Reason to know” works only in the workplace, not the calls made by a third party debt collector to your smartphone or home landline. Stopping all phone calls made by Atlantic Credit & Finance requires the legal expertise of a licensed FDCPA lawyer.
A FDCPA lawyer has several options at his or her disposal, including the crafting of professionally written cease and desist letter that is sent via certified mail. Your attorney can also request to settle the outstanding debt or tell a bill collector that it has violated one or more provisions of the FDCPA.
The FDCPA makes it illegal for third party debt collectors to harass consumers by issuing threats or using abusive language. Bill collectors also are not allow to implement deceptive debt collection techniques, such as impersonating the IRS or claiming consumers can spend time in jail for not taking care of outstanding credit card and personal loan accounts.
Debt collection agencies like Atlantic Credit & Finance earn a considerable windfall by purchasing debts owed to original creditors for a percentage of the entire balance. This is plenty of motivation for a bill collector to bend or even break federal consumer protection law.
![Can Atlantic Credit & Finance Call You at Work?*]()
Make a Bill Collector Pay for FDCPA Violations
The FDCPA allows consumers to seek financial compensation for one or more violations of the federal law. Receiving phone calls at work from a third party debt collector can trigger stress and anxiety, which spills over to diminish your productivity on the job.
Your employer might notice your lackluster performance and adjust your pay accordingly. If a bill collector causes you to lose wages because of illegal debt collection practices, you have the right to seek monetary damages to cover the amount of lost pay.
Moreover, consumers have the right to recover every cent garnished by a debt collection agency.
Do not let Atlantic Credit & Finance get away with one or more FDCPA violations. Speak with an experienced consumer protection attorney to prevent third party debt collector abuse.
Additional Resources
*Disclaimer: The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be constructed as legal advice. If you file a claim against Atlantic Credit & Finance or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.