After spending the day with your family, you arrive home to discover the voicemail system completely full of messages. You play back the messages, most of which are from a debt collection agency.
Virtually every message wants you to contact the company within three days to take care of an outstanding credit card account. The message itself is unnerving, but what really sends your stress level to the proverbial roof is the messages were also heard by your spouse.
Did the third party debt collector cross the legal line by establishing a three-day deadline for action? The answer lies within a groundbreaking federal consumer protection law.
About IMC Credit Services, LLC
Based in South Dakota, IMC Credit Services, LLC represents a bill collector that also goes by the name Statewide Credit Association, Inc. With an annual revenue of more than $1.7 million and a staff of 45 employees, the company focuses its resources on collecting the balances owed on outstanding credit card accounts.
According to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), many consumers have reported the company uses false or misleading information to deceive consumers into paying off personal debts.
How a Consumer Protection Law Protects You against Threats
Motivated by incredible profit margins, far too many debt collection agencies cross the legal line when trying to collect delinquent consumer debts. Fortunately for consumers, the United States Congress enacted the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) to stop harassing and intimidating debt collection practices.
The FDCPA bans the use of deception to trick consumers into taking care of financial obligations. Another effective ban issued by the FDCPA is the longstanding technique used by bill collectors of threatening consumers.
Threats forbidden by the FDCPA include threatening to seize private property. This type of threat is used to convince consumers about the seriousness of ignoring the letters sent and the phone calls made by debt collection agencies.
However, threatening to seize private property is not allowed by the FDCPA. A third party debt collector cannot threaten to contact the IRS or a law enforcement agency. In fact, the IRS is not in the business of enforcing credit contracts.
If you receive a threat from IMC Credit Services, Inc., you should immediately contact a licensed FDCPA lawyer for legal guidance.
![Did IMC Credit Services, LLC Threaten You?*]()
What an FDCPA Attorney Can Do for You
The FDCPA gives consumers the right to seek monetary damages for the pain and suffering caused by the illegal debt collection tactics used by a bill collector. Sometimes, there is not enough evidence to link the illicit activities conducted by a debt collection agency with the pain and suffering endured by a consumer.
Your FDCPA lawyer might opt to send the third party debt collector a formal cease and desist notice by certified mail. The notice should provide you and your FDCPA attorney with more time to come up with a legal solution to your debt collection agency problem.
You can also invoke the statute of limitations for collecting debts that is imposed by your state. Schedule a free initial consultation today with an experienced FDCPA attorney to determine the best course of legal action.
Additional Resources
*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 IMC Credit Services, LLC, or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to compensation.