Before September 20, 1977, consumers had little, if any legal protections when it came to dealing with debt collection agencies. Many third party debt collectors used harassment and intimidation in tactics that would have made Whitey Bulger proud. Some of the overly aggressive debt collection practices included calling consumers repeatedly at all hours of the day. In response to growing consumer anger, the United States Congress wrote the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) into federal law.
The FDCPA limits the times bill collectors are legally allowed to call consumers. If you receive repeated phone calls from a debt collection agency like Medical Financial Solutions after 9 pm and before 8 am, you should meet with a licensed FDCPA attorney to explore your legal options. The FDCPA also prohibits bill collectors from using deception to trick consumers into taking care of outstanding credit card and personal loan balances.
Deception can include impersonating a law enforcement official or requesting more money than what is actually owed on a consumer debt. The FDCPA contains a large section that addresses the illegal debt collection technique of issuing threats.
![If Medical Financial Solutions is Threatening Legal Action*]()
Medical Financial Solutions is Not Permitted to Threaten Legal Action
Despite the passage of the FDCPA, many debt collection agencies continue to violate the provision that makes it illegal to issue threats of any kind. Under the FDCPA, a third party debt collector cannot threaten to take your property, with the intent to sell the property and raise cash to settle a delinquent credit card or a personal loan account. Medical Financial Solutions is prohibited from threatening legal action as well. If you receive a threat of legal action from Medical Financial Solutions, you need to schedule a free initial consultation with a licensed FDCPA attorney to determine the most effective course of legal action.
Handling the Threat of Legal Action
If your consumer protection lawyer can prove Medical Financial Solutions threatened you with legal action, he or she might decide to file a claim against the debt collection agency. A claim can seek statutory damages for all of the FDCPA violations committed by Medical Financial Solutions. The FDCPA caps the one-time award for statutory damages at $1,000.
However, you have the right to seek monetary damages for suffering from physical and/or emotional duress. Proving physical and/or emotional distress requires the legal expertise of an experienced FDCPA attorney. Your lawyer will present physical evidence in the form of medical documentation that confirms the diagnosis and treatment of your symptoms. He or she will also call expert witnesses to the stand to bolster your case.
Other remedies for resolving a FDCPA lawsuit include the payment of attorney fees and the issuing of an order that provides you with injunctive relief. An injunctive order is the judicial system’s version of a cease and desist order, as it requires a third party debt collector to stop harassing and intimidating you for the purpose of collecting an outstanding consumer debt.
Consult with an accomplished FDCPA lawyer today to learn more about the rights granted by the landmark consumer protection law.
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 Medical Financial Solutions or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.