money damages – Attorney Driven Credit Repair

Telemarketers sometimes have a hard time taking no for an answer. The first step to ending the calls is to simply ask the telemarketer to stop calling you. Once you ask, the telemarketer is required by law to stop calling. Record the details of your request for it to stop calling such as the date, time, and person with whom you spoke, and take a picture of the caller ID for later use. Writing a letter to the telemarketing company can also sometimes help stop the calls. Then, if the telemarketer continues calling you have proof you asked for the calls to stop.

You should also put your telephone number on the federal do not call list. Doing so will stop most reputable telemarketers (if there is such a thing). For those who do not stop calling, inclusion of your number in the do not call registry provides you additional proof of wrongdoing and creates an additional cause of action against the telemarketer if you decide to sue.

If the steps above do not stop the calls, suing the telemarketer may be your only option. Use caution, however. If you have conducted business with the company in the last three months or have given it permission to call you, it is probably not violating the do not call rules until you tell it to stop calling.

You can also sue abusive telemarketers for calling you before 8:00 in the morning or after 9:00 at night, for using an automated dialer to call your cell phone, or failing to provide you a copy of their do not call policy when you request it.

If you sue a telemarketer you could receive a substantial award or settlement but only if you have all your ducks in a row. Failing to have the required evidence or suing when the telemarketing company has a legal defense could blow up in your face. If you successfully prove your case, the court can award you up to $500 in statutory damages per violation and, if the telemarketer willfully or knowingly violated the law, up to $1500 for each violation.

Such high statutory damages are powerful tools in the fight against abusive marketing calls but don’t dismiss the effectiveness of the do not call registry and asking callers to stop as good measures toward preventing the vast majority of these calls. Either way, when you fight against these unwanted privacy intrusions properly, peace and quiet are the ultimate result.

When a debt collector violates your rights by engaging in unfair debt collection practices you can sue it to stop the harassment or abuse and, in many cases, recover monetary damages from the abusive collector. Although debt relief is not an available remedy under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), four kinds of monetary damages may be available to consumers who successfully sue abusive debt collectors for unfair debt collections.

Statutory Damages for Unfair Debt Collection

Statutory damages are available in FDCPA unfair debt collection cases though the amount is limited to no more than $1000. That amount is the total available regardless of the amount of violations at issue. Although I cannot explain why the upper limit for statutory damages is so low, their purpose is to encourage consumers to sue debt collectors even when there are no actual damages. In awarding statutory damages the courts will consider the nature, frequency, and persistence of the noncompliance with the FDCPA and whether or not the collector intended to commit the acts that violated the FDCPA.

Actual Damages for Abusive Debt Collection

Actual damages may also be awarded in FDCPA litigation. Actual damages in unfair debt collection cases consist of monetary damages incurred as a result of the abusive collection activity. This can include attorney’s fees incurred to defend an improper debt collection lawsuit or other tangible monetary loss. Actual damages can also include damages for emotional harm or harm to your reputation. This includes sleeplessness, nausea, anxiety, embarrassment, shame, and depression caused by the unfair debt collection abuse.

Punitive Damages for Debt Collection Abuse

Punitive damages may be available in abusive or unfair debt collection litigation but are challenging to obtain. The reason is because several courts have refused to award punitive damages solely under the statute, despite the lack of evidence in the FDCPA that Congress meant to preclude punitive damages. The best practice is to include state law claims in your complaint that allow an award of punitive damages. To support an award of punitive damages, you will also need to demonstrate actual damages and that the collector acted with an unusually high level of malice or recklessness.

Attorney’s Fees for Debt Collection Abuse

Consumers who successfully sue under the FDCPA for abusive or unfair debt collection practices are entitled to a mandatory award of the attorney’s fees incurred in the action. This is a powerful incentive to hire an attorney rather than sue a collector on your own. Most consumer law attorneys will take these cases on a contingency basis so you will generally pay nothing if you lose your case. In addition to the value of this requirement in discussing settlement, there is also a great amount of personal satisfaction in making a debt collector pay your legal fees.

Debt Relief in Debt Collection Lawsuits

Relief for the underlying debt is not considered actual damages and therefore is not an available remedy under the FDCPA. This means that even if you successfully sue a collection agency you will still normally remain liable for the underlying debt. Even so, forgiveness of the debt is a viable option to consider when negotiating settlement of an FDCPA case. Doing so will prevent the collection agency from selling your debt to reignite collection efforts by someone else.

Conclusion

Many consumer law firms will tell you that there are only two kinds of damages available under the FDCPA for abusive or unfair debt collection practices; namely actual and statutory damages. This is because punitive damages are difficult to obtain and attorney’s fees are not strictly considered damages. Nonetheless, both are recoverable under the FDCPA and both should be pursued if your case merits doing so.

If you are a victim of unfair, undignified, or abusive debt collections please call us now to discuss how we can help. We can stop the calls and make abusive debt collectors pay you.

Suing Telemarketers

Money Damages for Unfair Debt Collections