General Law

Being subjected to harassment from a bill collector does more than just create additional stress. It can lead to the invasion of your privacy, the loss of your job, bankruptcy, and even marital strain or divorce.

While creditors can legally make repeated attempts to collect or authenticate a debt, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), on the other hand, considers certain kinds of communication by debt collectors to be unethical and does not allow it.

The majority of debt collectors are aware that debtors are protected by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and follow federal legislation when attempting to collect a debt.

That said, some creditors step out of bounds and engage in harassment or abuse to force someone to make a payment. Here’s what you should know about creditor harassment and what you can do about it.

Identifying Debt Collection Harassment

Understanding what debt collection harassment is and how to identify it is critical to protecting your debtors’ rights. Ideally, you will be able to immediately know whether or not a bill collector is crossing the line and can call them out on their behavior in real time.

Examples of Creditor Harassment

Not all debt collector harassment looks the same. However, some of the most common examples of it include:

• Receiving calls from the same creditor that are made repeatedly with the purpose of annoying, intimidating, or bullying you or someone else who answers the phone into making a payment
• Having creditors verbally accost you with profane or obscene language
• Receiving threats of harm, harm to your family, threats to doxx or reveal private information about you
• Having your name and other information published on a publicly accessible list of debtors to mock or shame them (this does not include credit bureau reporting)
• Receiving phone calls from creditors who refuse to identify themselves

Creditors are also prohibited from engaging in false, dishonest, or misleading actions to collect a debt, according to the FDCPA. This includes attempting to deceive you or misrepresent the debt or themselves. Debt collectors may try to lie to you about:

• How much you actually owe
• That the creditor is an attorney when they are not
• The ability to have you arrested or charged with a crime if you do not pay (this isn’t true)
• The scope of how the debt can be collected; for example, they may not threaten to freeze your bank account if they do not have the authority to do so)

What You Can Do to Stop a Debt Collection Agency from Harassing You

Even though state and federal laws protect you from unfair debt collection practices, some bill collectors will hedge their bets on you not understanding your rights and going along with whatever they tell you out of fear. If you are being continually harassed by a creditor, here are some things you can do.

Steps to Take

Here are some steps you can take to protect yourself from debt collector harassment:

Send a Formal Letter

You can send a formally written letter to your creditor requesting that they cease communication with you. You can state in the letter that you are aware of your rights and they have engaged in harassment, and you will be pursuing further action if they do not comply. Keep a copy of this – and everything else – for your own records.

File a State Complaint

You can file a complaint about creditor harassment with your state before filing with the Federal Trade Commission or at the same time. You can also file only a state complaint if you prefer.

In Massachusetts, you are protected from debt collection harassment by the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act (MCPA). You can report creditor abuse to the Attorney General.

New Hampshire also has its own legislation to protect residents from unscrupulous bill collectors, called New Hampshire’s Unfair, Deceptive, or Unreasonable Collection Practices Act. Violations are reported to the NH Consumer Protection Bureau.

File a Federal Complaint

You can file a federal complaint against an abusive debt collector by reporting directly to the Federal Trade Commission using their online form, or you can contact the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Hire a Debt Collection Attorney

Often, dealing with the red tape of filing a complaint with the necessary state and federal authorities to stop creditor harassment is as stressful as dealing with the harassment itself. If you need help navigating the process of reporting an abusive bill collector, a debt collection attorney can be an excellent resource.

How a Massachusetts Debt Collection Attorney Can Help You Today

Dealing with creditor harassment or abuse can make you feel ashamed and angry when you’re already frustrated and struggling to meet your debt obligations. Being harassed by a bill collector isn’t typically helpful at solving the problem, however, creditors continue to do it anyway.

If you’ve been harassed or abused by a bill collector, one of two things should occur. First, the harassment needs to be stopped. Then, it should be determined if the abuse caused you any financial or emotional damages. If you can prove to a court of law that you lost your job, became depressed, or otherwise tangibly suffered as a result of creditor harassment, you may be able to sue for compensation.

At Mazow | McCullough, PC, we are seasoned New Hampshire and Massachusetts consumer protection attorneys and can help you stand up to unfair debt collection practices. We’ll zealously go to bat for you, even against large creditors with multi-attorney legal teams.

Contact us today to learn more about your rights as a debtor against harassment or to schedule your consultation at (978) 744-8000 or toll free at (855) 693-9084.

In a general sense, defective products are any products that do not work as they should. However, in a legal sense, a defective product typically refers to a product with a defect that harms someone. If you sustain an injury or suffer serious damages due to a defective product, you may be able to bring a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the product. Here’s what you need to know.

What Makes a Product Defective?

From a liability standpoint, defective products usually fall into one of three categories: defective manufacturing, defective design, or failure to provide adequate warning labels.

Defective Manufacturing

Defective manufacturing includes cases where a mistake in the manufacturing process leads to a dangerous product. Typically, the mistake only affects one or a few products.

Defective Design

In contrast, defective design refers to cases where the defect is part of the product’s design. For instance, the Takata airbags are a prime example of a manufacturing defect. The manufacturer designed and sold millions of airbags with defective inflators. When these airbags deployed, the casing around the inflators ruptured, causing metal shards to spray around the inside of the vehicle. This particular defect has been linked to at least 15 deaths.

Failure-to-Warn

Finally, failure-to-warn claims relate to cases where products do not have adequate warning labels. In one inadequate-warning case, the plaintiff suffered bodily harm due to water intrusion from a jet ski. In this situation, the jet ski had warnings to be aware of the water intrusion, but the warnings were not clearly positioned in a place where all operators would be likely to see them.

What Are the Most Common Defective Products?

All kinds of products have been cited as defective. Consumer products, motor vehicles, boats, cosmetics, and environmental products such as pesticides have all been involved in defective product lawsuits or recalls. Food and medicine also make the list.

Beyond those broad categories, some of the most common defective products include medical devices, pharmaceutical drugs, children’s toys, household appliances, cleaning products, and industrial equipment and machinery.

What Should You Do If You Are Injured by a Defective Product?

If you are injured by a defective product, seek medical attention and stop using the product immediately. If the issue eventually goes to court, you may need to prove that your injuries were related to the defective product. Take photographs, collect statements from medical professionals, and gather any other information you can. Then, contact an attorney as soon as possible to discuss your rights.

Are There Federal Agencies Overseeing Defective Products?

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the United States Coast Guard, the Food and Drug Administration, the US Food and Drug Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency all play a unique role in helping to protect consumers against dangerous and defective products, foods, and medications.

These six agencies have partnered together to create Recalls.gov. On this site, consumers can obtain product recall information and report defective products to the government.

Defective products can lead to serious injuries and even death. You do not deserve to suffer while a company profits from your misery. To get help, contact Mazow | McCullough, PC today by calling (855) 693-9084. We can start with a free consultation and help you decide how to move forward.

With about a month left until the April 15^th deadline, everyone is scrambling to get together every document mailed to them that may seem important and useful when filing their taxes. Taxpayers have already been warned by the IRS that tax returns may be delayed this year due to budget cuts and staff reductions. This more likely than not means fewer customer service representatives to answer questions, which people are sure to have since the budget cuts and staff reductions are not the only factors to blame for delays. The lack of customer service availability, along with increasing identity theft occurrences and confusing new tax requirements under the Affordable Care Act, may also make for an unpleasant tax filing season.

“You’re going to need to be patient,” says Nina Olson, the National Taxpayer Advocate. The budget cuts and staff reduction have left the IRS struggling to stay ahead this tax season. There will definitely be a shortage of representatives to answer questions. Increasing identity theft by criminals who use other people’s social security numbers to file fictitious returns in order to get a refund is on the rise this year. Big companies like JPMorgan Chase and other banks were breached and confidential client information was stolen, which affected roughly 76 million households. TurboTax temporarily halted all state filings earlier this year after several state revenue departments complained to their state attorneys of the high possibility of filing fraud. They shortly resumed filings after stating that they found no evidence that customers’ Turbo Tax credentials had been stolen from their database. This, however, causes a trickle-down effect causing state revenue departments to take a closer and more rigorous look at filings, delaying the process even more.

If your head is spinning with all of these predicted inconveniences that may make filing your tax return a bigger headache this year, you are not alone. Mine is spinning and most of this doesn’t even apply to me. The IRS predicted that they will only be able to answer half of the number of calls they are expecting to get, which soars to the 100 million mark. Just expect it to be sort of like calling the Registry of Motor Vehicles – I’ve been calling them for the past 3 weeks trying to get them to send me the license they keep insisting is arriving to me any minute now, and every time it’s a 30 minute hold. The good news is that unlike last year, there is no government shutdown to add to the long list of potential headaches and delays.