Just because you owe a debt does not mean that you should be forced to endure harassing calls, letters, or even personal visits from the debt collectors. Most individuals have no idea that something as simple as a written letter to the debt collector can make the harassment stop. Believe it or not, you have the power to unilaterally cause the debt collectors to cease from harassing you and your family with one simple letter.

Federal law requires debt collectors to stop all contact with you and your family if you:

1. state in a writing to the debt collector that you will not pay the debt;
2. state in writing to the debt collector that you want them to stop contacting you;
3. or the debt collector knows you are represented by an attorney. Once the debt collector is informed you have hired an attorney, he must communicate solely with your attorney.

Each of these writings are what is deemed a “notice” to the debt collector, and once the debt collector receives any one of the aforementioned notices, he or she must stop contacting you and your family. Your notice to the debt collector is complete the moment it is received by the debt collector. As such, it is in your best interest to mail any such notice via certified mail return receipt requested so you can prove they received it.

After receiving a written notice from you, the debt collector can only directly communicate with you in very limited situations, such as 1) to put you on notice that the debt collector is stopping its collection proceedings against you; 2) to put you on notice that the debt collector may or is in fact choosing to invoke certain other remedies; or 3) where you initiate any further communication with the debt collector.

However, if you initiate any further communication with the debt collector, you may be waiving your request that the debt collector cease all communications with you. For example, you may be deemed to have waived your request if you request more information from the debt collector or you return a debt collector’s phone call simply to supply some information the debt collector requested. Although you may not have intended to waive your request that they stop communicating with you, the debt collector may be entitled to continue harassing you after you unknowingly re-open the channels of communication.

It is important to keep in mind that if you do request the debt collector to stop communicating with you, he or she may realize that you will not or do not intend to voluntarily pay the full amount of the debt. As a result, the creditor may escalate your matter and file a lawsuit against you sooner in the hopes of pressuring you into paying the debt in full or entering into a favorable settlement agreement with the debt collector. It might be worth the headache to allow the creditor to continue communicating with you in order to buy yourself more time to decide the best possible way to resolve your debt related problems without having to pay litigation fees and costs.

If you or your loved ones are being harassed by creditors and wish to settle your debt, call our Los Angeles Debt Relief and Collections Defense Attorney today for a free consultion. An attorney can help settle your debt and explain all the other possible alternatives available to you.

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