Rights and Responsibilities of Debtors
When dealing with a collection agency, a debtor has rights and responsibilities as far as collections go. This article will discuss those rights and responsibilities. When a debtor gets a call from a collections agency, there are certain rights that are there for the debtor such as knowing the name and amount of the debt in question. They also have the right to not speak to a collections agent. They also have a right to talk to a supervisor; especially if there have been threats from the collection agent or intimidation by the same agent.
They have a right to report harassment by the collections agency. They also have the right to dispute the amount due. However, it is not a good idea for the debtor to refuse to pay the debt. This will definitely ruin his or her credit and will remain on a credit report for at least 7 years, before it is taken off. Now, let’s talk about the responsibilities that a debtor has to the collection agency and the creditor in general.
The debtor is responsible for any debt that he or she incurs at any time. They have the responsibility to pay that debt back. They also have the responsibility to inform the creditor and collection agency of any changes in repayment status such as losing a job, paying extra or anything that may affect the ability of the debt to be repaid. If there is a discrepancy in the bill, that must also be reported to the creditor immediately. If a payment is made through the collection agency or other form of collection, the creditor must be informed. Correct information must be given to the collection agency or creditor representative. Incorrect information can be seen as an attempt to defraud the collection agent and the creditor.
That will land you in very hot water and could lead to jail time for doing something like this. Now that we have talked about the rights and responsibilities of the debtor, we also need to talk about the rights and responsibilities of the collection agency towards the debtor. The collection agency has the right to call you at home and at work. They may even contact relatives or friends in order to locate you. They have the right to make payment arrangements for the debt in question. They also have the right to question you about making payment arrangements for the outstanding debt.
Their responsibilities include collection of the debt, administration of the debt collection, and proper procedure in making attempts to collect the debt from the debtor. They are also responsible for how they handle themselves during an attempt to collect a debt from a debtor. This means no harassment and intimidation, no threats and no funny business. They must abide by a set of rules that govern these agencies and their behavior towards any debtor regardless of the amount owed to a creditor. In this article rights and responsibilities have been discussed both debtor and collection agency.
