Phone calls from banks for debt collections can become devastating and frightening because debt collection agents on behalf of the bank usually breach the rules & regulations while attempting to recover the funds from people. It is why knowing your legal rights is highly crucial, you will suitably understand if a bank’s debt collection specialist crosses the limit into an unlawful environment, and you might not get frightened by illegitimate approaches.
You can precisely utilize the bank’s infringements of the regulations to your advantage. Likewise, understanding a few do’s and don’ts while dealing with Comenity Bank harassing calls may relieve stress. Most of all, there are rarer chances of blunders that could push you into lawful or monetary trouble by understanding the exact things to do and speak if the bank calls.
Read on to learn what you must do to handle such bank harassment.
Know Your Lawful Rights
The (FDCPA) Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 USC 1692 and the following) specifies what debt collection agents may and may not do. For illustration, even if you do not pay the dues, this regulation restricts collection specialists from talking in profane language or terrifying you with assault.
It even sets bounds that at what time and where the collection agent may reach you, restricting them from speaking with others regarding your dues, with some exceptions progressively. Some provinces hold similar regulations that give extra safeguarding than the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
So, you can use the infringement as an advantage during the settlement when the bank goes beyond the limit and breaks the regulation.
What Should You Do When The Bank Calls
Here is what you must do while handling bank harassment calls.
You Must Determine Whether Or Not You Like To Speak To The Bank Agent
When a bank’s collection agent calls, you must choose to ignore the calls or not answer all other contact modes no matter what until you know what your rights are. You should learn if the outstanding dues are precisely yours, whether you would like to take legal proceedings for bankruptcy, and also understand if the law of restrictions ended.
You obviously do not like to give the bank agents valuable collection details unintentionally or accidentally tell anything that confirms the dues.
Keep Evidence If You Choose To Have A Conversation With The Bank Agent
A collections record is a journal of time and date that you can make whenever a bank agent contacts you. The details include the agent you talk to and things the bank agent tells you. The collections record might help you to clarify who calls you from where and what dues every agent contacts about.
If the bank agent sends you voice or text messages with offensive speech, you must keep it. These logs might get beneficial when you choose to sue the bank in court or if you either choose to try and pay the funds.
Explain To The Agent You Can Not Pay The Debts
The bank would not stop attempting to collect simply because you can not pay debts, still giving the bank a brief description of your economic problems and informing them that you can not pay may lead them to cut off from you. It can even keep your case away from being suggested for legal action.
You should ensure to dismiss that you have the debt or tell something that may resume an extinct law of restrictions. You may reopen the statute of constraints if you send any installment on the dues or accept that you are in debt you have not been paying already. Any assurance to pay the dues can even restore the law of restrictions in various situations.
What Should You Not Do When The Bank Calls
Here is what you must avoid doing while handling bank harassment calls.
You Do Not Have To Share Your Confidential Financial Details
You must never give your confidential financial details to the agents even if they tell you they need data regarding your earnings to privilege you with the least price amount, which includes:
- Your bank account digits (until you really want to make a payment, despite that you may like to pay by some different mode, so the agent does not fetches your account details)
- Your (SSN) Social Security number, or even
- Your personal property’s net worth
These details may get accustomed to complying from you through bank levy, wages garnishment, or real estate lien if the lender or agent calls a decision against you. Nevertheless, you may give the necessary details regarding your economic problems.
Never Accept The Debt Is Valid Or Make Any Promises
Despite it being clear you owe the debt, you must abstain from making declarations like “You owe the debt and might pay at the earliest moment” or “You will start paying money the following month.”
If you disclose the debt, it can restore the statute of restrictions. While you make any promise to pay, it can get illustrated as a respective assurance, restarting the statute of boundaries for the debt.
Losing Temper
Be clear that using obscenity, shouting, or being aggressive would not benefit you. If call logs are to be presented in court, it might affect your lawsuit when the court sees you are the abusive one but not the bank.
Likewise, if you get aggressive, you may unintentionally give details you did not want to disclose.
Bottom Line
Though you have some idea about how to deal with the bank’s harassment, consider counseling with an attorney, as they can help you deal with a violent bank agent, understand the best option for managing the dues, arranging compensation, or answering to a legal action for failure of a deficit.
Under the FDCPA, when you hire a counselor, the bank agent can speak to your lawyer only, not you, except if you permit them to contact you or your lawyer does not answer them. Also, if you owe enough debt, you may like to think about filing for insolvency.