Consumer Credit Collector News - Return to Menu

Keep the debt collectors from hounding you

By Marshall Loeb, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - If you're being hounded by creditors for unpaid bills, keep in mind that there are limits to what you, the debtor, can be subjected to. Quite possibly, you're already facing dire financial straits - you've lost your job, had your identity stolen, or have mountains of debt from money mismanagement. It's important to know your rights so that you can get back on track without being harassed.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act provides a number of protections. Under it, debt collection agencies may not:

Contact you at inconvenient times or places. This includes phone calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. Debt collectors are also not permitted to call you at work once you have informed them you are not allowed to receive personal calls.

Harass you. They cannot threaten you with violence, use obscene language, or repeatedly call you to be annoying.

Engage in unfair behavior when collecting a debt. They may not collect an amount larger than your debt unless state law permits it, and they may not engage in deceptive practices to make you pay for services they use to contact you, such as telegrams and collect calls.

Make false statements. This includes falsely implying that they are attorneys or other government officials or misrepresenting the amount of money you owe. They also cannot threaten you with action such as a lawsuit or property seizure unless the lender they represent can legally take that action and intends to take it.

Give others - including credit bureaus - false credit information about you.

If you experience any of these problems, or encounter other behavior from a debt collector that seems inappropriate, file a complaint with your state's Attorney General's office.

Schumer: Student credit cards should need parents’ OK

By Amy L. Ashbridge, Staff Writer

05/19/05 - The 5,045 college students in Otsego County are carrying about $11.8 million in credit-card debt, according to numbers provided Wednesday by Sen. Charles Schumer.

That works out to about $2,340 per student.

Kelsey Erwin of Westhampton Beach, who is finishing her first year at the State University College at Oneonta, said she’s not one of those in debt.

Erwin has one credit card from J.C. Penney and uses cash and a debit card for everything else.

"Not me," Erwin said when asked if she had problems with credit-card debt. "But I’m sure some students do".

"She has been good," said Erwin’s mother, Wendy.

Mother and daughter were shopping at SUCO’s Hunt Union on Wednesday.

Wendy Erwin said she is involved in her daughter’s credit-card spending and thinks more parents should be.

Schumer is pushing for that parental involvement.

Parents should have to give consent for their children to get a credit card, Schumer said in a conference call, and then should receive a copy of the monthly bill.

Schumer said he is supporting legislation requiring such consent and notification.

Giving parents information would help make sure students don’t find themselves in impossible situations, Schumer said.

"That could be the greatest check of all," Schumer said. "If the parent sees the student is spending too much, they can put a lid on it."

In Delaware County, 1,617 students are carrying a combined $3.8 million in credit-card debt. That’s about $2,350 per student.

The average amount of credit-card debt per student in Chenango County is $2,309. Nearly 1,000 students are carrying $2.3 million in debt.

Schumer’s numbers, which do not include student loans, come from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Nellie Mae Corporation, a student-loan provider.

"As our young people head out to the work force, they’re also heading into piles of debt," Schumer said.

Not every student can resist the siren call of MasterCard and Visa.

"It’s hard to say no," said Frank Polera, the assistant director for community relations for the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Central New York, a nonprofit organization.

Another thing that would help students avoid such debt would be to limit the amount of soliciting that credit-card companies can do on college campuses, Wendy Erwin said.

Credit-card companies know students will carry debt and that it’s easy to make money off them, she said.

Schumer agreed.

Students get credit-card offers in new textbooks, in their mail boxes and posted on bulletin boards, Schumer said.

"We’ve just found that so many kids are hurt by credit-card debt," Polera said.

Having parents get involved may help students with debt, said David Kline, a branch manager for the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Central New York’s office in Albany.

"That would definitely be a good thing for some kids," Kline said Tuesday.

Using credit cards wisely can allow students to develop a credit history, Kline said, but it’s important that they do so responsibly.

"You typically have a lot of wants and not a lot of money," Kline said. "That’s where the problem comes in."

Schumer said nearly half of students with credit cards have at least four cards.

There is about $800 billion in revolving credit in the United States, according to the Federal Reserve Board. That’s about $2,700 for every person in the United States.

———

Amy Ashbridge can be reached at aashbridge@thedailystar.com or 432-1000, Ext. 213 or (800) 721-1000, Ext. 213.