Can a Debt Collector Contact Your Children?
![Debt Collector Contacting Children]()
General Rule: A debt collector may contact your children. However, they may only ask for your contact information and cannot mention your debt.
Oftentimes, during the debt collection process, you have more questions than answers. Debt collectors will aggressively pursue your debt in many different ways. However, can a collection agency reach out to your children about your debt?
You can find the answer to this and many other questions in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). This federal law regulates how a collection agency can communicate with you and others, such as your children. The law contains regulations to prevent harassment, deception and publicizing of your debt to others.
In this article, you will learn about when a collection agency can contact your children and what they can say. If their contact with your children violates the FDCPA, this article will provide decisive action you can take to stop them.
Limitations on Collection Agency Contact With Your Children
First and foremost, it is important to understand that you have a right to keep your debt private. As a result, the FDCPA puts specific rules in place to ensure your privacy. The FDCPA prohibits a collection agency from directly or indirectly revealing your debt to your children.
However, a collection agency may still contact your child for two specific reasons. They can do so to request your contact information or information on where you work. When they make contact with your children they must be very careful to keep your debt information private.
How can a debt collector contact your children and keep your debt private? They must abide by the following requirements:
➜ Make No Mention About Why They Need to Contact You. A collection agency may not make a direct reference about your debt. They also cannot make indirect comments such as that they need to contact you to discuss your payment plan.
➜ Do Not Identify as a Collection Agency. A debt collector violates the FDCPA by calling and stating they are from “XYZ Collection Agency.” In fact, a collection agency should never provide its company name unless requested.
➜ Avoid Written Communication. It is hard to send written communication to someone without revealing your debt. A collection agency should only request your contact information over the phone.
If a collection agency fails to follow the above requirements, they violate the FDCPA.
The FDCPA provides additional restrictions beyond what they can say to your children. A collection agency can only call a child once to request your contact information. Only if a child provides inaccurate or incomplete information, can a collection agency call them again.
The FDCPA and Keeping Your Debt Private
While it’s not the only goal, the FDCPA highlights the importance of keeping your debt private. That is why a collection agency is so restricted when it comes to contacting your children. Telling your children about your debt violates your privacy and collection agencies do it to embarrass you.
The FDCPA understood how this type of embarrassment can also be a coercive tactic. This is why the FDCPA regulations strive to keep the debt collection process between you and the collection agency.
Did a Collection Agency Talk to Your Children About Your Debt?
Outside of the limited reasons discussed above, a collection agency cannot contact your children about your debt. If they do so, stop them by taking the following action:
★ Send a Demand Letter. Write to the collection agency putting them on notice about the illegal communication with your children. You can also let them know further communication will result in a lawsuit.
★ Report the Violation to a Federal Agency. One agency you can send a complaint to is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Since it is a violation of the FDCPA, you can also send a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
★ Take the Collection Agency to Court. A court can intervene in two ways. First, they can order the collection agency to stop the illegal behavior. Second, they can award you with damages and penalize the debt collector.
★ Consider Settlement Possibilities. A collection agency may provide a more generous settlement if they know you can prove their guilt in court.
Conclusion
There are very limited reasons why a collection agency should be contacting your children. In many cases, this communication violates the FDCPA.
When this happens, you can use the tools provided in this article to address the violation. If you do not want to handle this issue on your own, you can hire a consumer rights attorney. They can take over your case and hold the collection agency accountable for their illegal communication.
Additional Resources