Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)

Under the FDCPA statute you can get up to $1,000 in damages. If there are what’s called “actual damages” you can recover those also. Actual damages could be out of pocket costs and emotional distress damages, among other things.

We can also force debt collectors to follow the rules, such as correct false reporting on your credit reports.

The FDCPA has what’s called a “fee shifting” provision. It’s what allows the little guy to get into court and sue the big companies and win. In a fee shifting FDCPA case if you win the defendant has to pay your attorneys’ fees and costs.

Debt collectors, debt buyers (companies that buy defaulted debt for pennies on the dollar then try to collect), and even law firms that try to collect or sue people for defaulted debts can all be sued under the FDCPA.

Business debts, taxes, speeding and parking tickets, municipal fines such as building or code violations and child support

Consumer debt is covered which is defined as debt for personal, family or household purposes. This mostly consists of personal debts such as credit card debt, personal loans, auto loans and in some cases mortgages.

The FDCPA regulates what debt collectors can and can’t do. It was created to protect people from the shady, unfair and illegal tactics debt collectors use to collect debts from people.