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Author: Sergei Lemberg
Protecting the Elderly From Debt Collectors
![Elderly Debt Collection]()
General Rule: The FDCPA provides the elderly protection from abusive debt collectors. This includes protection from harassment, deception, embarrassment and other abusive debt collection practices.
The debt collection practice contains many questionable activities, especially with the elderly. Debt collectors often prey on elderly consumers, hoping they are unaware of their rights. Often a collection agency will deceive and outright lie to a senior citizen to collect on a debt. They also tend to harass them during their collection efforts.
The elderly have strong protections under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). This federal law holds debt collectors accountable for abusive and deceptive debt collection practices. Not only can you put a stop to this illegal behavior under the FDCPA, but you may also receive compensation.
In this article, you will learn how this law protects the elderly from aggressive and unethical debt collection practices. This article also contains steps you can take to stop this illegal behavior.
FDCPA Protections for Seniors
The FDCPA protects senior citizens dealing with a personal debt. This may be an old medical bill, credit card, mortgage and more. If you or someone you know is dealing with this type of debt with a third-party debt collector there are protections.
Even if a collection agency has a judgment against you, there are protections. For instance, a collection agency is not allowed to withhold or take your social security benefits. However, most violations occur prior to a judgment.
Here are common debt collection violations that the FDCPA protects elderly consumers from.
Deception
The most common FDCPA violations with the elderly involve deception. Unethical debt collectors believe they can trick a senior into paying a debt even when not obligated to. Here are some common elderly debt collection violations involving deception:
- False Statements. A debt collector will often make false statements to coerce a payment. For instance, a debt collector may tell a senior citizen that if they do not pay a medical debt a hospital can refuse care.
- Requesting Illegal Payments. It is illegal for a debt collector to charge additional fees and interest. In addition, they cannot use deceptive tactics to get an elderly consumer to pay off a debt that is time-barred. This happens when the statute of limitations expires and the debt is no longer legally enforceable.
- Misrepresentation of Who They Are. A debt collector may try many different tactics to misrepresent who they are when they contact you. For instance, they may call you pretending to be an attorney or even law enforcement. Sometimes they will simply refuse to identify themselves.
- Threats. A debt collector may tell a senior they will take certain action (e.g., file a lawsuit) if they do not pay a debt. If they have no intention of taking that action, this is illegal under the FDCPA.
- Deceiving Mail. Sometimes a collection agency will send mail in a way that makes it look like it is part of the legal process.
Harassment
Another way debt collectors will violate an elderly consumer’s rights during the debt collection process is through harassment.
- Repeated and Inconvenient Calls. A debt collector will sometimes harass the senior by calling them over and over again. Or they may call them at inconvenient times (e.g., 9:00 PM – 8:00 AM). Both of these practices are illegal.
- Publicizing Your Debt. If someone else notifies you that a collection agency told them about your debt, they have violated your rights. The same is true if they publish your name on a “bad debt” list.
- Abusive Language. A debt collector may not use abusive language when communicating with you. This includes profane, obscene, threatening and other types of abusive language.
How to Stop Elderly Abuse During the Collection Process
If a debt collector is abusing an elderly person through the debt collection practice, there are options to address it. Here are common ways to stop these illegal debt collection practices:
- Write to the Collection Agency. Maybe you are dealing with one rogue employee. Notify the collection agency in writing with details about the violation. This may suffice to put an end to the illegal behavior.
- Report the Collection Agency to a Federal Agency. For FDCPA violations, the first place you should send a complaint to is the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). You may receive additional assistance by also submitting a complaint to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
- Negotiate a Settlement. Once a collection agency is aware of the violation, they will likely want to avoid a lawsuit. One way may be to agree to a significantly discounted settlement.
- File a Lawsuit. If the violations are egregious or ongoing you may need to file a lawsuit. If considering this option, it’s a great idea to get a consultation with an attorney.
Conclusion
If a debt collector is trying to deceive a senior citizen, efforts must be made to stop it. Deceptive debt collection practices on the elderly are committed by collection agencies with no ethics or professionalism.
If you, or someone you know, is being taken advantage of by a debt collector, talk to an FDCPA attorney. They can intervene in the situation and make sure the debt collector ends all illegal debt collection practices.
About the author:
Sergei Lemberg is a consumer rights attorney, practicing since 2006, whose practice focuses on consumer law, class actions and personal injury litigation. He is known for a United States Supreme Court case (Facebook v. Duguid) defending consumers from autodialers under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 to send unsolicited text messages. He is also the author of Defanging Debt Collectors, a book that teaches consumers how to battle debt collectors and win.
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