When you owe debt to certain companies, you’re going to find that some are easy to work with, while others just seem like the devil sent them your way.  There’s nothing worse than getting a phone call 4 times a day regarding the same old debt!  When are they going to get the clue?

What you’re going to find out is that when you owe money, they won’t take no for an answer.  You can give them every excuse in the book and even if you mean goodwill and you want to pay those debts off, they are still going to harass you.

You’re going to find out that there are certain rules that they have to follow.  If they don’t abide by the laws, you can report them, void your debts, or even take them to court.

Here are some rules that you should know about…

You can stop them from contacting you. You can simply send them a letter via certified mail and tell them to stop the harassment or calls.  By law, they must only reach you via mail for any further inquiries.  Make sure that you get everything in writing.

They can’t use violence. If they threaten to throw you in jail or they state that they are going to do some harm if the bills aren’t paid, you will want to make note of this ASAP.

They can’t publicize this. They can’t go out and give yourself a bad name.  They can’t create a Facebook fan page stating “Joe Doe is a deadbeat that doesn’t pay his bills.”  If you come across any type of public humiliation, this is against the government collection laws.

Can’t harass you via profane language. If they start dropping the F bomb or using threatening language that is offensive to you, this is again, against the laws in terms of harassment.

Can’t call you constantly harassing. A collection agency can’t call you 10 times a day demanding money.  If this does happen, you’re going to want to send out that letter telling them that you want to stop.

Tell you fake information. They can’t lie to you.  If they are telling lies such as, “We’re sending the cops over” or “We’re calling the cops because you committed a crime”, you’re going to find that lies can get themselves in a lot of trouble.

Debt collectors can’t legally arrest you, garnish your wages, or cause harm.  They can garnish your wages in the future if you’re sent to court.  Of course, there are many other rules/laws that you should know about.  Be sure to refer to this FTC guide on more things that collectors can’t do to you.