Avoiding Debt Collection Abuse and Harassment

Preventing Abuse or Harassment by Debt Collectors

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Question

Debt collector may not abuse or harass the consumer by:

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Explanations

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A. B. C. D.

D

Sure, I can provide a detailed explanation of the answer to this question.

The question is asking about the behavior that a debt collector is prohibited from engaging in when attempting to collect a debt from a consumer. The answer is C: Allowing a telephone to ring repeatedly or engaging a person in telephone conversations repeatedly with the intent to abuse or harass.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal law that regulates the behavior of debt collectors in their interactions with consumers. One of the provisions of the FDCPA is that debt collectors may not engage in abusive or harassing behavior when attempting to collect a debt.

Allowing a telephone to ring repeatedly or engaging a person in telephone conversations repeatedly with the intent to abuse or harass is considered to be a form of harassment under the FDCPA. This behavior is often referred to as "telephone harassment," and it can be very distressing for consumers who are receiving these calls.

Debt collectors are also prohibited from using or threatening to use violence or to harm the physical person, reputation, or property of any person when collecting a debt (answer A), using obscene, profane, or abusive language when communicating with anyone (answer B), and making telephone calls without meaningful disclosure of the caller's identity (answer D).

However, the specific behavior that the question is asking about is repeated telephone calls with the intent to abuse or harass, which is why the correct answer is C.

It's important to note that the FDCPA applies to third-party debt collectors, which are companies or individuals who collect debts on behalf of someone else. The FDCPA does not apply to creditors who are attempting to collect their own debts. However, many states have their own debt collection laws that apply to both third-party debt collectors and creditors.