When big companies extend credit to people, they are taking a chance that the person will repay the money. For the most part, people will pay those bills. There are some instances in which the person is unable to pay for the bill for whatever reason. In those cases, the company might opt to start a collection process that includes telephone calls.
Creditors and companies that collect for them are bound by the rules of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. When those entities don’t follow those rules, consumers can take action. Florida residents might be interested in reading about one woman in another state who is standing up against Kohl’s for violating the FDCPA over a $20 debt.
The woman alleges that starting in November, she started to get calls from the store to collect the small debt. She reportedly asked them to stop the calls. From there, things went from bad to worse. She claims to have received 22 calls in one week from Kohl’s.
The woman says that she didn’t give the company permission to call her, which violates the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. She says that the collection calls came as late as midnight and as early as 6:00 in the morning. Per the FDCPA, creditors are only allowed to call from 8:00 in the morning until 9:00 at night unless they have the debtor’s permission to do so. If the woman proves her case in court and the calls do violate the FDCPA or TCPA, each call could end up costing the company $1,500 in penalties.
This woman’s case shows just how serious creditor harassment can turn. No consumer has to deal with the things this woman dealt with. Anyone who has been the victim of creditor harassment can take a stand as this woman did in an effort to stop the insane collection practices.
Source: Source: Consumerist, “Kohl’s Shopper Sues Store For Bugging Her About $20 Debt,” Chris Morran, June 19, 2014