If you have any questions related to dealing with anyone who is trying to collect a debt against you in North Carolina please feel free to contact our Durham Collections Attorneys or Greensboro Collections Attorneys. We offer free consultations, and can be reached by telephone at (888) 820-5885, by email at info@kregerthacker.com or by completing the Free Consultation Contact Form to the right of this page.
We have been receiving a lot of calls lately from clients that are dealing with debt collectors. Oftentimes the client doesn’t realize that the person who is trying to collect a debt from them. For example, in North Carolina Landlords, Homeowner Associations, Body Shops, etc. are considered debt collectors, and are prohibited from engaging in certain acts. In fact, the definition of Debt Collector in North Carolina is set out in N.C.G.S. 75-50(3) and includes any person engaging directly or indirectly in debt collection from a consumer. So, a debt collector is anyone is trying to collect money or other consideration from you related to a debt that you incurred for personal, family, household or agricultural purposes. If you have questions relating to whether you are a Debt Collector under this statute, or whether you are being collected on by a Debt Collector, our Durham Fair Debt Collection Attorneys and Greensboro Fair Debt Collection Attorneys are willing to answer your questions free of charge.
You may be wondering why it is important to know if a person that is asking you for money is a debt collector. Well, Article 2 of Chapter 75 of the North Carolina General Statutes lists acts that Debt Collectors are prohibited from engaging in. If a Debt Collector fails to comply with a provision of Article 2 of Chapter 75 of the North Carolina General Statutes is liable to you for civil penalties between $500 and $4,000 (in the Court’s discretion). A Debt Collector violation Article 2 of Chapter 75 may also owe your reasonable attorney’s fees, court costs and triple your damages if you have suffered actual harm. For more information on what compensation you may be entitled to if one of your Debt Collectors violates Article 2 of Chapter 75 feel free to contact one of our Durham Debt Defense Attorneys or Greensboro Debt Defense Attorneys for a free consultation.
We’ll have more blog posts coming on violations of the Prohibited Acts by Debt Collectors, but below are a summary of the prohibited acts. If anyone you owe money, even a landlord, employer, insurance agent, cell phone company, etc. engages in any of the following acts, you may be entitled to $500 – $4,000 per violation, plus compensation for your actual injuries:
- Threaten you with violence
- Falsely report you to a credit reporting agency
- Threaten to have you arrested
- Threaten garnishment of your wages
- Use profane or obscene language
- Call you excessively, or call you early in the morning or late at night
- Fail to inform you that the purpose of the phone call or letter is to collect a debt
- Falsely represent the amount of your debt (even unintentional errors by a Debt Collector can be a violation)
- Falsely represent that you may owe attorney’s fees, investigation fees, late fees or investigation fees
- Attempt to collect interest or other fees that the Debt Collector is not legally entitled to
For additional information about acts that are prohibited by Debt Collectors feel free to contact our Durham Attorneys or Greensboro Attorneys. You can obtain a free consultation if someone is trying to collect a debt against you by contacting our Durham Debt Attorneys or Greensboro Debt Attorneys by email at info@kregerthacker.com or by phone at (888) 820 – 5885.
