Pushing Back on Aggressive Debt Collectors

By Jedidiah McKeehan

If you find yourself in a situation where you have racked up more debt than you can pay you may start receiving mail and phone calls from debt collectors. These calls are not only stressful, but they can be downright annoying and harassing in nature.

There are some things you can actually do to push back on debt collectors. Most debt collections laws are federal laws and are found in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Here are some helpful things you can do or say to the debt collector that you may not have known:

You are allowed to record the phone call you have with the debt collector.

You can revoke your consent to have them contact you any further and tell them they are only allowed to send you written correspondence.

You can demand that they validate the debt and prove that you are legally obligated to pay them.

You can demand to be provided the purchase agreement related to the debt to confirm that they are not trying to collect after the statute of limitations has expired.

You can demand that they provide the original written agreement with your signature on it showing that you agreed to pay them.

You can demand a copy of the last billing statement from the original creditor.

You can demand proof that the entity contacting you has their collection agency license in the state of Tennessee.

My guess is that most entities that contact you will not be able to provide you with much of these items. That is why it is incredibly important that you record phone calls with debt collectors so you have proof that you demanded they provide these various things.

Again, under federal law, you are entitled to request these things, and if the debt collector cannot provide them, you may be able to avoid paying this particular debt.

Jedidiah McKeehan is an attorney practicing in Knox County and surrounding counties.  He works in many areas, including family law, criminal, and personal injury. Visit attorney-knoxville.com for more information about this legal issue and other legal issues.