Getting collection calls is something that most people dread. It’s the number one reason why people don’t answer their phones if they don’t recognize the number. But when those calls keep coming it can lead to depression, anxiety, and serious health problems. If debt collectors are leaving voicemails that can make the anxiety even worse. But debt collectors that are leaving voicemails could be breaking the rules of the FDCPA and if so that means that you have the power to make them stop.
What Is the FDCPA?
The FDCPA is a law that was passed to protect consumers from unfair, abusive, or harassing debt collection practices. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act states very clearly what debt collectors are allowed to do and what they’re not allowed to do. For example, the FDCPA states that debt collectors can’t call you before 8AM or after 9PM so that they’re not waking you up and causing you stress all night long. There are a lot of rules in the FDCPA that debt collectors must follow including rules about leaving voicemail.
![When Can IMC Credit Services, LLC Leave a Voicemail?*]()
The FDCPA Rules About Voicemails
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act states that debt collectors can leave voicemails, but only when that phone line isn’t accessible by a third party. If the phone line is accessible by a third party, like your boss, then debt collectors who leave messages will be violating the FDCPA because under the regulations they must identify themselves as debt collectors but they also cannot discuss your debt with a third party. So if a debt collector leaves a message on work voicemail, which can be accessed by your boss or by HR, then the debt collector is violating the FDCPA.
Are Debt Collectors Allowed To Make Threats?
Debt collectors are not allowed to threaten you or try to intimidate you into settling a debt. It is a direct violation of the FDCPA for a debt collector to threaten to have you imprisoned, arrested, or sued for owing a debt. A debt collector also can’t try to harass or intimidate you by threating to tell your boss, your partner, or anyone else in your life about your debt.
How An Attorney Can Help You
If you have received threats from a debt collector at IMC Credit Services, LLC* or if you have gotten threatening voicemails from a debt collector you should talk to an experienced debt collection attorney right away. An attorney that has experience in the FDCPA can help you figure out if a debt collector has violated the FDCPA and can also help you file a claim against that debt collector if you decide that you want to stop the harassment. You could be entitled to damages for every violation of the FDCPA like calling you at work after you’ve told them to stop or leaving threatening voicemails.
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 IMC Credit Services, LLC* or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.