You can fall behind in payments on a sum of debt for a variety of reasons. If you have accrued a large amount of debt, you may be contacted about it by a debt collection agency.
Your Rights Under the FDCPA
Debt collection agencies must follow certain guidelines when contacting debtors in order to make sure they don’t use any abusive, deceptive, or unfair practices. This is due to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), who enacted the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) to protect debtors. The act ensures that debt collection agencies do not harass debtors, and gives debtors the ability to seek legal action against a debt collection agency if they feel as though it has violated their rights under the FDCPA.
SGQ Processing is a debt collection agency based in Margaretville, New York.
What to Do if SGQ Processing is Trying to Collect a Debt from You*
If you have been contacted by SGQ Processing over a debt and you believe they are violating your rights under the FDCPA, there are options available to you. Most people might not know that you have the right to request that a debt collection agency stops contacting you over a debt.
This request can be made in writing or verbally. In this case, the best option may be to make a written request and send it to SGQ Processing as certified mail. This way, the written request acts as proof that you made the request in the first place in the event that you are seeking action against the agency in a court of law.
SGQ Processing must stop contacting you over the debt in question once they receive your request for cease of contact. If they continue to call you about it, it is important that you make a record of every call they make to you since they received your request.
Make a log of the date, time, and name of the call representative for each call. This is a good idea because under the FDCPA, each call an agency makes to you after you request them to stop contacting you counts as a separate violation under the FDCPA. Each violation can earn you up to $1,000 each in damages.
Lastly, you may want to think about retaining an attorney who works with FDCPA lawsuits. An attorney will help you throughout the entire FDCPA claim process, making sure that everything runs smoothly and that you maximize your chances of winning the damages you deserve. An attorney will help you collect the evidence you need in court, such as the record of calls mentioned above. They will also help you decide the right amount of damages to seek in court.
When you seek legal action against SGQ Processing for violating your rights, you can file a claim in small claims court or state court, as well as through your state attorney general’s office or the FTC.
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 SGQ Processing, or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.