Halbert says, at a time when many can't afford to pay the hundreds or thousands of dollars they owe in one lump sum, collectors are becoming less and less willing to work out a payment plan."Now the collectors are saying we can't do that," said Halbert. "We're only going to have this account for a short time. We need a lot of money and we need it up front, and we need it fast."
Indiana Deputy Attorney General David Paetzmann say his office receives at least a dozen calls each week from people complaining about abusive debt collectors. The number of calls is up more than 20 percent from just four years ago."We do keep track of the names of the collection agencies against whom we receive complaints, and there are some that we receive more complaints against than others," said Paetzmann.
One of those companies is Premiere Credit of North America. It's named in two of the six lawsuits obtained by Fox 59 News.A spokesperson for Premiere Credit says the company has "strict policies, training and monitoring against threats and harassments."Paetzmann suggests consumers familiarize themselves with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the legal limits it places on debt collectors.
"The collection agency is only supposed to contact people between eight o'clock in the morning and nine o'clock at night so people should be aware of those limitations," said Paetzmann.
The act also prohibits debt collectors from deceitfully claiming they can arrest you or snag your property, talking about your debt with anyone else, and trying to collect any fee in addition to the amount owed.
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