I am the law
Chicago,#2Consumer Comment
Sat, April 28, 2012
Something doesn't sound right here....
First off, if someone can't or won't pay off a loan; this is a civil matter, not a criminal one. Worst case scenario, there might be a lawsuit or a wage garnishment. They won't haul you off to "debtor's prison". It's not "fraud" to fall behind on loan payments.
They must have been accusing him of something else (like taking out a loan in another person's name or providing false information, etc etc.) if they were taking that tone with him.
Karmaa
Frederick,#3Consumer Suggestion
Tue, April 03, 2012
Threatening you with criminal prosecution is a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. You can Google it and easily come up with a copy of the actual act (from a government source), which also tells you how to handle violations. The important parts are:
Debt collectors may not use threats of physical force or violence in collecting debts.
They may not threaten criminal prosecution for non-payment of the debt.
They may not threaten to tell uninvolved third persons about your debt in an effort to humiliate or embarrass you.
They cannot use obscene or profane language when contacting you to collect debts.
When a debt collector contacts you, he or she must correctly identify who they are, the purpose of the contact and the fact that it is an effort to collect a debt.
Debt collectors cannot lie to you about who they are, who they work for or why theyre calling you.
If they are not an attorney, they cannot represent to you that they are an attorney. Similarly, they cannot misrepresent to you that they are police officers, FBI officers, or sheriffs.
They cannot cause a phone to ring continuously or repeatedly to harass you, and may not call you too frequently or at odd hours to harass you.
Debt collectors generally can only call you between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m., unless you give them permission to call at some other time.
With limited exceptions, debt collectors cannot contact your employer concerning the debt. With limited exceptions, debt collectors cannot call your family members about the debt.
They cannot publish to anyone a deadbeats list of persons who allegedly have not paid their debts.
If you advise a debt collector that you are represented by an attorney and wish to conduct all further discussions only through counsel, the debt collector must cease calling you and must thereafter only contact you through your attorney.
If you advise a debt collector to cease communications with you, the debt collector must do so after advising you of any additional debt collection steps that may be taken.
If your original contract with the creditor does not provide for attorneys fees or other penalties, the debt collector cannot add these to the debt.
Debt collectors cannot use fraudulent legal forms to collect debts. They cannot solicit post-dated checks and cannot accept checks post-dated by more than five days.