Being Harassed at Work by a Collection Agency

Effects

Many employers do not approve of employees taking personal calls on the job. Receiving personal calls from a collection agency can result in reprimands, being passed over for promotions or raises and even being fired in some cases. Additionally, if an employer finds out that an employee owes money, he may take this into consideration when making decisions about raises, promotion and even whether to keep the employee. Again, this can cost you money, opportunities or even your job.

Congress passed the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) in 1978 to protect consumers from abusive debt collection practices by collection agencies, which can include being harassed at work. The FDCPA is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Additionally, many states have debt collection laws that protect consumers against collectors of debts not covered by the FDCPA.

Not all contact at your place of work is prohibited by the FDCPA. Collectors may call you there until they are informed that they are not allowed. However, they may not tell anyone else they are calling about a debt. Furthermore, only personal or household debts are covered by the FDCPA. If you are being harassed about debts you owe in connection to a business, they are not covered by federal law; however, a state law may apply. Finally, the collection agency is permitted to contact your employer with relevant papers, such as a wage garnishment order.

Tell the collection agent over the phone that you are not permitted to receive calls at work. Follow up with a letter stating the same. Keep a record of this correspondence. If the collection agency continues to harass you at work, you can sue them in a state or federal court. If you win the case, you will receive any damages that you can show you sustained, such as lost income, court costs and attorney fees. However, you will still owe the original debt.

Consumers have one year to sue a collector in state or federal court from the date the law was violated. After that one year has passed, you can no longer take action against the collection agency. Additionally, you can report the collection agency to your state's attorney general or the FTC at any time.