If you have recently fallen into debt and have not been able to pay your normal monthly bills, or you have been informed that you owe money when you do not, you do have some protection from being harassed. This is due to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) that came into force in 1978. Its aim is to prevent third party debt collectors from putting undue pressure on debtors in order to collect a debt.
Unfortunately, many debt collectors choose to ignore the FDCPA but this is not necessarily in their interest. In fact if you think that the Global Collection Agency has been contacting you repeatedly, you may be eligible to file a FDCPA lawsuit to collect damages for the way you have been treated.
Global Collection Agency – Company Profile
Global Collection Agency, which altered its name to Affinity GlobaI, Inc, quite recently, is a Canadian company, but has a debt collection department. Despite its headquarters being in Markham, Ontario it does have representatives in the United States and Europe. The U.S. consumer affairs boards and PACER (Public Access to Court Electronic Records) believe that this debt collector has violated FDCPA rules.
There are several ways it can do this, such as using abusive and threatening language when calling at your home or making repeated phone calls when you have asked them not to. There have even been cases when a debt collector like the Global Collection Agency has removed money from a debtor’s account to get the debt paid off. This sort of debt collector behavior is grounds for filing a lawsuit for damages.
Did Global Collection Agency* Not Validate Your Debt?
What Is a Debt Validation Letter? And Why Do You Need It?
Before a debt collector is paid you should make sure that the debt is actually yours and not someone else’s. Mistakes are often made by debt collectors. Additionally, a debt collector is required by law to send a debt validation letter to you. This provides the information about the debt including the sum owed by you. Sometimes when people are under pressure they may pay money firmly believing it is their debt when in fact it’s not.
You shouldn’t fall into this trap but instead you should send to the debt collector a debt verification letter asking for more facts about the debt. The FDCPA states this is what a debt collector is supposed to do without being asked first.
They are given no more than 5 days to provide you with a debt validation letter. If the Global Collection Agency fails to provide the debt validation letter, this is violating the provisions in the FDCPA. You may be eligible to seek damages from the Global Collection Agency.
Talk to an Attorney Today
If the Global Collection Agency failed to validate your debt, you should speak to an FDCPA attorney who specializes in harassment from debt collectors. The attorney will study the facts about the case and decide whether you have the grounds to file a lawsuit for damages.
Fill out our Free Case Evaluation so that you can be connected with an FDCPA attorney who handles consumer law cases in your state.
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*Disclaimer: The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be construed as legal advice. If you file a claim against the Global Collection Agency or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to compensation.