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People often ask, "what is debt collector harassment?"  It is a good question, and can be hard to nail down.

Debt collectors must treat you with truth, fairness, dignity, and respect.  Any debt collector who crosses the line and abuses you for the collection of a consumer debt can be sued in federal court for damages under a law called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).  In California they can also be sued under California's Rosenthal Act.

Debt Collectors Are Prohibited From Doing Lots of Things

* Threatening lawsuits, garnishment, liens, or arrest for not paying a bill
* Calling your family, friends, neighbors or employers to collect a debt
* Leaving abusive phone messages
* Insulting, yelling or swearing at you
* Calling your workplace after telling the collector not to call you there
* Lying, threatening, or otherwise harassing you in any way

If you have suffered from any of these abusive bill collection practices, you may be entitled to compensation.  We can help any consumer who is currently in collections, or has suffered from collection harassment.   Call us today at (619) 233-7770 to speak with an attorney and get a free phone consultation on your case.   You can also start the process of evaluating your case by filling out an online evaluation, here.

What to Do if You're Abused By a Collector

If you're contacted by a debt collector, you have a right to dispute the debt either verbally or in writing.   If you want to preserve some rights under the FDCPA, you must send a written dispute within 30 days of your receipt of the first "validation notice" from the debt collector.  Even if you owe the debt, or you cannot pay, you still have rights under the FDCPA.   Most of our clients owe the debt being collected but because of financial circumstances, or a dispute over the goods or services, they cannot pay it.  In order to preserve your rights under the law, it's important for you to keep good records of all of the contacts.

Important Steps You Can Take To Help Your Case

1. Save copies of all letters and notices from collection agencies.
2. Save all phone messages and voice mails- this is very important!
3. Make note of your conversations with these bill collectors.
4. Call a consumer rights attorney to help you recover your damages.

This Web site is owned by Hyde & Swigart, (the "Law Firm"). We respect your privacy as well as the privacy of our clients. We know that many visitors to our site may be concerned about the information they may provide and how we may use that information, so the following is provided to address those concerns.



Privacy Comes First

Except as otherwise provided in this Policy, our Law Firm does not collect personally identifiable information from individuals unless they provide it to us voluntarily and knowingly. We only collect personal information for specific purposes such as responding to requests for information or to provide legal services. We will not sell or provide your information to unaffiliated companies or law firms for any purpose unrelated to the business of this Law Firm. In some instances, we may use this information to inform you of our services that may be of interest to you. Except as provided herein, our Law Firm will not disclose any information about you to unaffiliated companies or organizations without your consent, unless:

• required by law;
• we believe it necessary to respond to an inquiry or provide you with a service which you have requested;
• to implement the terms of our legal services;

Our Law Firm recognizes the trust you place in us when you give us personal information. In order to operate the Web site or deliver our legal services within the State of California and the State of Arizona, we may sometimes share your minimal personal information with a service provider under strictly confidential conditions in order to assist you in your legal matter. We will not otherwise disclose your personal information to anyone without your explicit consent. Our Law Firm reserves the right to change its Web Site Privacy Policy at any time, and will immediately post the updated information here on its Web site.

Our Web Site Use Policy

You are not required to register or provide information to us in order to view much of our site. To obtain legal services from our Law Firm within the State of California and the State of Arizona, you may be asked for personal information. We use your personal information to only to respond to inquiries you initiate or to provide you the legal services you have requested and we have agreed in writing to provide. Our Law Firm will use your information only in accordance with this Policy.



Access to Your Information

If at any time you want to know exactly what personal information we hold about you or wish to change personal information that is inaccurate or out of date, please contact us our office and we will amend our records.

Security

Our Law Firm will endeavor to take all steps deemed reasonable by us to keep secure any information we hold about you, and to keep this information accurate and up-to-date. Any information you submit is stored on secure servers that are protected in controlled facilities. We require our employees and data processors to respect the confidentiality of any personal information held by our Law Firm. Unfortunately, no data can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, so we cannot give an absolute assurance that the information you provide to us will be secure at all times. Likewise, Internet, email and other electronic communication between you and us may be particularly susceptible to eavesdropping or unauthorized interception.



We constantly see California consumers who thought they sold their cars only to have a debt collector contacting them about an accident that occurred, a parking ticket issued, or a towing that took place, after the sale.  If the debt collector is abusing you or trying to get you to pay when debt or incident occurred after the sale of the vehicle took place, contact us here.  However, here is the best way to reduce the risk of that happening to you in the first place.

1. Fix any minor problems with the car.  If the car needs major work, considering selling the car "as is" for cars worth less than $10,000.
2. Get the car smog checked. In California, the seller must smog check any car more than 4 model years old before selling the car. If the car does not pass, then fix the car until it does pass.
3. Clean the car. Thoroughly wash the interior and exterior. Consider shampooing the carpet.
4. Take pictures. Take at least two pictures of the interior and the exterior, for a total of four pictures.
5. Assess the value of your car.  Check the value of your car at www.kbb.com or www.edmunds.com. Then, check www.craigslist.com to see what price similar cars are selling for in your area.  Remember that the final price at sale will probably be lower than the initial listing price.
6. Download a Bill of Sale from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, here.
7. Locate the Certificate of Title for the car.  (If the car is financed you probably do not have this.  You will have to contact the company that financed your car and either pay the car off or make arrangements with the finance company to sell the car jointly.)
8. On the Certificate of Title, there is  "Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability" form.  (It is usually on the top of the Certificate of Title and has red lettering.)  You will need this.
9. Create an email address.  Do not use your usual email address.  This way, after you post your ad and the car is sold, you will not have to deal with spam.
10. Create an ad. Be sure to include all the good things about the car as well as the make, model, year, mileage and asking price.  Check other ads for your car to get some ideas.
11. Post your ad on craigslist.org
12. Once you have someone interested in buying the car, agree to meet in a public place and during the day.  (Your bank's parking lot is a good choice.)
13. Only accept cash or cashiers check.  Do not accept a personal check.  If you do not think you would be able to identify a fake check or counterfeit bills, then bring your buyer into the bank with you and have him deposit the money directly into your account.  Even smarter, bring your buyer into the bank with you and have him deposit the money directly into your account either way.  (If the buyer hesitates to enter the bank, you may have a problem.  The seller may be afraid of the cameras.)
14. Sign the Certificate of Title.  Do this in the bank, if you are there.  Give the buyer the signed Certificate of Title and have him fill out the Notice of "Transfer and Release of Liability" form.
15. Immediately after the sale, make a copy of the "Transfer and Release of Liability" for your records and send the original to the California Department of Motor Vehicles.  (Remember to sign the "Transfer and Release of Liability.")
16. Contact your insurance company and tell them you sold your car.

If you see accounts you don’t recognize or information that is inaccurate, contact the credit reporting agency and the information provider.  For more information, read the FTC’s tips on how to dispute credit errors.

If you suspect identity theft, you may need to place a fraud alert on your credit report, close compromised accounts, file a complaint with the FTC, or file a police report.