Minnesota Bankruptcy Attorney

Are you being harassed by creditors?

In 1997, the U.S. Congress enacted the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The purpose of this law is to prevent certain debt collectors from taking part in creditor harassment or abusive actions. This act does not extend to the person or company that you originally owed the debt to. When a bill collector or debt collection agency violates this law, however, there are protections that a well-versed Minnesota bankruptcy lawyer from Heimerl & Lammers is able to make good use of.

Some of the acts which the FDCPA made illegal are:

• Using or threatening to use violence
• Bill collectors making phone calls to you without stating who they are
• Sending you a paper that looks like a legal document
• Burdening you with interest, fees or charges which are not authorized
• Stating that your property will be seized or that you will be incarcerated
• Stating that you owe more money than you do
• Using language which is profane or obscene
• Making any contact with you at your place of employment, when prohibited by your employer
• Claiming to be a lawyer
• Calling you on a repeated basis
• Calling you before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m.
• Threaten you with wage garnishment, liens, lawsuits or arrest for your unpaid debt

If you have been subjected to any of these practices, we know what to do to protect your rights and how to go about halting the unlawful actions.

Use of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

As part of our collections defense actions, we help you to understand how to document the harassment you are going through. This information can be used towards getting the abusive actions stopped. In some cases, where there has been a continued pattern of harassment, a lawsuit can be filed against the offending agency. If your case is won, the collection agency may have to pay court costs and attorney fees plus compensation for actual losses and your pain and suffering.

Once the bill collectors have been neutralized, we strive to find the correct solution for your financial situation. We have many years of successful experience in helping individuals in bankruptcy filings, loan modifications, debt negotiation and settlement, short sales, credit restoration and many other methods to achieve debt resolution.

Contact a Minnesota bankruptcy attorney to learn how to bring creditor harassment to a halt.