Why do debt collection agencies come hard after consumers for the repayment of delinquent debts? The answer is one word: Money. Companies charged with recovering outstanding consumer debts have two ways to benefit financially from harassing you.
First, the original creditor can pay the third party debt collector a fee for recovering at least a partial amount of the money owed on a credit card or personal loan balance. The second method bill collectors profit off the backs of consumers is by purchasing debts for a fraction of the original amount owed.
Think about how motivated Jonathan Neil & Associates would be if they purchased a Visa debt for 50 cents on the dollar.
However, a federal consumer protection law does not care about the profit motive for debt collection agencies. In fact, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) prohibits a long list of debt collection tactics that were commonly used before the passage of the federal law on September 20, 1977.
To make the FDCPA work for you, the best course of action is working with a licensed consumer protection attorney that understands every legal provision written into the groundbreaking consumer protection law.
How to Determine if You Have a Valid Claim
Your FDCPA attorney will thoroughly examine your case to see if you have a valid claim that will stand up in a courtroom. There is not enough room for error in a FDCPA case to guess whether you have the goods on Jonathan Neil & Associates.
Your FDCPA lawyer might use the powerful consumer protection law to invoke the statute of limitations mandated by your state. He or she might also opt to settle the outstanding credit card or personal loan account by negotiating with the lawyers representing Jonathan Neil & Associates.
The key to winning a FDCPA case is proving a third party debt collector violated one or more provisions of the consumer protection law. Did you know that a bill collector is not allowed to threaten you in any way?
A debt collection agency cannot threaten to take you to court, as well as threaten to seize some, if not all of your property to pay off the debt in question. Another illegal intimidation trick used by third party debt collectors involves using abusive language and contacting associates in an attempt to shame you into taking care of the debt.
![Starting a Claim Against Jonathan Neil & Associates*]()
What Types of Monetary Damages Does the FDCPA Allow?
Catching a debt collection agency breaking the law is one thing. Making the third party debt collector pay for its lawbreaking is quite another thing. Your FDCPA attorney will collect as much evidence as possible to link the aggressive behavior of Jonathan Neil & Associates to any physical and/or emotional distress that you suffer.
Although proving physical duress is a relatively straightforward process, the same cannot be said for proving the presence of emotional distress. In an emotional duress case, your lawyer will rely on the testimony of qualified mental health experts to connect your emotional trauma to the illegal acts committed by a bill collector.
If not enough evidence exists, you have the right to seek statutory damages up to $1,000 for all violations of the FDCPA. Never permit a debt collection agency to push you around. Speak with an experienced consumer protection lawyer to learn more about how the FDCPA protects you against third party debt collectors.
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 Jonathan Neil & Associates or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.