The law protects you from collection agents when the means used in collecting debts are improper.

Before a debt collection agency starts pursuing you for unpaid debts, it must first give you notice of the debt and also provide you with an opportunity to either confirm or deny the debt. Every person who has a claim against another must give that other person notice of the claim and a chance for that other person to contest the claim or debt in court. This is known as service of process. The service may be faulty if the debt collection agency fails to properly investigate or find the actual residence of the debtor and serves process at the wrong address. Don’t succumb to pressure from these collection agents. If you have not been given proper notice as explained here, call your NY bankruptcy attorney now.

The most common unfair debt collection practice is where the debt collection agency or lawyer harasses or scares you, the debtor through continuous phone calls to the debtor’s home or cell phone. If a debt collection agent calls you at odd hours, for example late in the night or at dawn, with the intention to force the debtor to make payment, please call your NY bankruptcy attorney now for immediate help.

Another way the debt collection may be improper is when the debt collection agency fails to investigate, (especially where the agency was not the original creditor) whether you, the debtor in fact owed the amount as claimed by the original creditor.

Furthermore, the debt collection agent needs to prove that the original creditor has duly and properly assigned all right, title and interest in the account or debt to it. This will be the basis for pursuing any claim against the debtor. If your debt collector has no proof of assignment of the debt to her, call your NY bankruptcy lawyer now.

The law seeks to protect the most vulnerable members of the society who may feel intimidated just at the sight of a letter signed by a lawyer. In instances where such abusive means is used by a debt collection agency or agent, the court usually protects you by dismissing the complaint of the debt collection agency. Your lawyer can have the court set aside a default judgment which was given in favor of the debt collection agency if you did not have a chance to set aside the debt. Don’t just wait for debt collection agencies to drive you into bankruptcy.