Fair Debt Collection Letter: Fill & Download for Free

One of my first clients was an elderly lady who cut hair out of her home for extra money. A crooked company got her to sign a contract to provide a credit card swipe machine that cost over 20 times what her local bank would have charged her. She couldn’t pay and returned the machine. In trying to collect on her contract, they made threats of violence and harassed her constantly. Her phone rang three times while she was telling me her story!I wrote them a letter demanding that they cease all contact with her. They laughed at the small amount of damages (up to $1,000 plus attorney fees) they might have to pay. Granted, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a largely toothless law. So their harassment continued. I filed a lawsuit under the FDCPA… and the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act… and invasion of privacy (for which punitive damages are available). After filing the lawsuit, I sent a copy of some phone calls they made threatening violence to my client, to a friend of mine who’s a federal prosecutor (she was not happy listening to the calls).Last I recall, the owner of the company closed up shop, paid my client a small amount of money (supposedly all he had left), and was busy negotiating a plea deal to avoid going to prison for multiple federal charges including criminal RICO and conspiracy to commit several crimes involving making threats across state lines and such.My client paid me every Friday for a month by bringing me a cheesy chicken casserole. My wife called me her casserole lawyer after that.

I did sue a debt collector once. I believe in paying my bills on time and take my obligations seriously. It is an important responsibility and our credit is crucial!One time, though, a particularly aggressive agent reached my then 16-year old son. They demanded to talk to me. He told the person I (his father) wasn’t home. He told my son: “Well you better call your father right now, or else he is going to jail!”He called me at my office at the CPA firm, where I just had hired on as a senior manager. It was a job I needed to pay off all my debts - none of which were egregiously past due, but I had fallen slightly behind, since I had been out of work for a couple months.I did call the collection agency. I insisted on speaking with someone “whose last name ended with esq.”A low-level supervisor got on the phone. I asked if she was qualified to address a serious legal matter. She arrogantly asked what I wanted with their legal department.I asked if she was familiar with The Health Insurance Portability and Privacy Act. She quickly - too quickly - answered, “Yeah, so what.” I mentioned the agent’s name and informed her he had discussed my personal, private and confidential information with an unauthorized individual. Further, that individual had not yet attained the age of majority. More importantly, they had uttered a falsehood across state lines, which is wire fraud. I then talked about threatening a minor…The line went quiet for a moment and the head of the legal department got on the phone. I explained I had attended law school and was thoroughly familiar with the laws regulating Interstate Commerce, collections (Fair Debt Collections Practices Act), criminal and banking regulations.Interestingly, he cut me off and asked how much I would accept as a settlement offer. I offered 50-cents on the dollar and a letter restoring my credit.I paid the balance, received the letter over the fax (this was in 2006), and resolved the matter.I never actually sued, just outlined what a lawsuit would look like. That was sufficient to get the bill cut in half!

Your options will depend on the specifics of the deal. As mentioned, you should look into getting an attorney. Collection laws vary from state to state and there are also federal collection laws (such as the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act). You want to be very careful to ensure that you do not do anything that violates the law because it could result in you being sued.In addition to knowing and following collections law, a collections lawyer will also know the best options for your situation. The lawyer may be able to get payments made to you by the real estate developer by sending out a strongly worded demand letter. The lawyer may be able to go through the necessary steps to place a lien on the involved property (or properties). You may have other options as well, but you really would need to speak with a qualified collections attorney. Going to court may result in a judgment being filed against the real estate developer.To learn more about how collections law may be able to help you get the money that is owed to you, check out LawTrades. We’ve helped thousands of people who’ve invested into a business and we’d appreciate the opportunity to help you get the answers that you need, too.