If you are being relentlessly hounded by an abusive bill collector, remember that there is an act, passed way back in 1977, to stop such nasty behavior. It\'s the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, short form FDCPA.

In the thirty years that have passed since this act came into being, much has been accomplished. However, much remains to be done since the industry of debt has increased by leaps and bounds.

Debt buying has become a huge industry, so much so that the courts are clogged with thousands of case files. Some are so old and out-of-date that they should never have made it that far. The reality is that a feeding frenzy exists where debts that should have died long ago are being being brought back to life and sold in big batches to debt buyers for a pittance.

Thousands of these are being entered in the court as default judgments despite the lack of any real proof that the accused person actually owed the debt, or that the amount is correct. In many cases the debtor may not even be the correct person. Imagine being told that you may be taken to court, or that your house will be repossessed, for a debt that isn\'t even yours.

In the mad dash to make as much money a possible, a collector will attempt to eke out payments, but invariably when this becomes too difficult, his stack of debts gets sold to another collector who takes another stab. Lost in the resulting shuffle is much of the paperwork which might verify a debt and the identity of the debtor. And so the farce continues.

Even the fact that the the debtor may have agreed to a settlement, and handed over post-dated checks to cover the amount, all may get lost in the lack of continuity. What happens to those checks? Where\'s the justice in this?

Now the shoe slips on to the other foot. The debtor is now in the impossible position of having to convince the bill collector that they are mistaken, thinking that the deal he made went through. The debtor might even end up having to take off work and attend court. Whereupon the whole merry-go-round stars again.

Surprisingly, collection agencies make their real profits from adding on collection fees and steep penalties to ancient debts. Unfortunately the debtor may pay these illegal amounts in the desperate attempt to free himself from this nightmare.

As unbelievable as it seems, the poor person who might not even owe the debt in the first place, or simply be unable to pay, is forced to cough up even more money. This is against the law, and yet it goes on.

This is why a person needs to get educated in the ways of debt collection agencies. It is essential for everyone who has experienced the inability to pay to know when collection tactics cross the line. Threats, profane language, and unfounded accusations should not go unchallenged. You need to strike back.

The FDCPA gives you that right. It doesn\'t cost anything to contact a fair debt attorney and have them assess your case. The lawyer you employ will only get paid after you get the compensation you deserve. Hurry to your computer, go online, and gather all the details you need to get you started. Tomorrow will be a whole lot more pleasant when you\'ll be able to confidently pick up your ringing telephone once again.