Getting behind on bills is never a pleasant experience for any Florida resident. If credit card accounts go to collections, the stress is often compounded by daily phone calls from credit card debt collectors. What many people do not realize is that many collection agents will lie in order to get people to pay. Below are some of the most common lies that they tell unsuspecting consumers who are in dire financial straits.
Some debt collectors will try to tell consumers that they are not entitled to information about the debt, but that is simply not true. Under federal law, a consumer may request a letter verifying the debt. The collection agency must provide this letter within five days of the first phone call or other communication.
Debt collectors will also say that they will stop harassing calls if a payment is made. This might seem like a good idea in order to make the calls stop, but what it actually might do is restart the statute of limitations. Debts can only be collected for a certain amount of time before they are no longer considered to be valid. Paying even $1 on the debt could restart that time clock.
Here in Florida, the statute of limitations on the collection of credit card debt is four years. Therefore, if the debt is four years or older, consumers are not obligated to pay. This is part of the reason why receiving verification of the debt is crucial. The phone calls can be more than a minor annoyance, but until Florida residents are sure that they are legally obligated to pay a debt in collection, it would be beneficial to put off making any payments.
Source: wgrz.com, “5 lies debt collectors might tell you“, Brittney Laryea, Oct. 21, 2016