Dont Let Your Small Business Fall in the FDCPA Trap

When someone owes your small business money, you certainly feel like a victim. But did you know that if you aren't careful, you could break the law by trying to get the money back?

How to Break a Federal Debt Collection Law

You have a small business, and your bills are coming due soon. You could easily pay those bills if a few thousands dollars of overdue invoices were paid. It's time to give your clients a few friendly reminders:

1] You call up the biggest debtor at his home number. The debtor's girlfriend answers and you leave the message that you were just calling to remind her husband about the invoice you had sent last month.

2] You get into an argument over the phone with the next debtor. In the heat of the moment, you say you're referring the debt to you attorney--when in reality, you know you can't afford to do that.

3]It's getting late--in fact, it's already after 9pm. But you know that debtor number 3 tends to stay up quite late, so it's practically midday for him. So, you cheerfully give him a call and remind him about the invoice of a couple of months ago.

Congratulations, you may have just broken a federal law three separate times. Plus, you could be sued for it.

Collections Laws Finer Points

Have you figured out what collections law you broke yet? It's the Fair Debt Collections Practice Act (FDCPA), the federal law for collections. Meant to protect consumers from harassment, it has a clear list of things you can't do. Let's look at what you did wrong in the last example:

- Never tell someone other than the debtor that you are calling about a bill. You can, of course, leave a message that you called. You can even call someone simply to find out if they know if a hard-to-reach debtor has moved house. But you cannot under any circumstances let on that they owe money. Simply leave your name and phone number as with any other "call me back" telephone message.

-Never claim to be involving an attorney when you are not. Of course, this might seem like a soft area of the law, since intentions are fuzzy. But, for instance, if it's clear that suing to recover the debt would cost as much as the debt itself, your bluff will be obvious in retrospect. To be on the safe side, don't ever claim to have involved your lawyer.

-Never call before 8 am or after 9 pm, unless you have the explicit permission of the debtor. But unless that permission is in writing, you're safer not calling during those hours, anyway. Of course, it's not strictly this simple.

For instance, the law is only supposed to apply to consumer collections, not business collections. But with home business and telecommuting blurring the line between work and home, you're better off following the law's dictates in every case.

Plus, the law has numerous other protections for debtors--or traps for collectors, depending on your point of view. This is just one reason why you might want to outsource your over-aged accounts receivables to a professional service.

If you want to learn collection laws, then visit collection laws for the latest information on debt collection laws and collection agency regulation.

cleaning help near Mundelein ..
In The News:

A phone phishing attack compromised Harvard's alumni and donor database, marking the second security incident at the university in recent months.
AutoFlight's zero-carbon floating vertiport uses solar power to charge eVTOL aircraft while supporting emergency response, tourism, and marine energy maintenance.
A new phone return scam targets recent buyers with fake carrier calls. Learn how criminals steal devices and steps to protect yourself from this fraud.
New Anthropic research reveals how AI reward hacking leads to dangerous behaviors, including models giving harmful advice like drinking bleach to users seeking help.
The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.
Holiday email scams, including non-delivery fraud and gift card schemes, spike in November and December, costing victims hundreds of millions, the FBI says.
Holiday visits offer the perfect opportunity to help older parents with technology updates, scam protection and basic troubleshooting skills for safer digital experiences.
Swiss scientists create grain-sized robot that surgeons control with magnets to deliver medicine precisely through blood vessels in medical breakthrough.
Researchers exploited WhatsApp's API vulnerability to scrape 3.5 billion phone numbers. Learn how this massive data breach happened and protect yourself.
Travel companies share passenger data with third parties during holidays, but travelers can protect themselves by removing data from broker sites and using aliases.
Xpeng's humanoid robot moves so realistically that crowds believed it was fake, marking a major advancement in robotics technology ahead of 2026 commercial launch.
Researchers discover phishing scam using invisible characters to evade email security, with protection tips including password managers and two-factor authentication.
iPhone and Android users can reduce battery drain and data usage by restricting Background App Refresh to Wi-Fi connections instead of mobile networks.
Scammers nearly stole an Apple account by exploiting the support system with authentic-looking tickets and phone calls, users can protect themselves with safety steps.
FoloToy restored sales of its AI teddy bear Kumma after a weeklong suspension following safety group findings of risky and inappropriate responses to children.
Threat intelligence firm Synthient uncovers one of the largest password exposures ever, prompting immediate security recommendations.
Viral video shared by Elon Musk shows Tesla's Optimus humanoid robots performing tasks from cooking to construction, garnering over 58.5 million views on social media.
Chinese hackers used Anthropic's Claude AI to launch autonomous cyberattacks on 30 organizations worldwide, marking a major shift in cybersecurity threats.
Apple's new Sleep Score feature gives you a rating for your nightly rest quality. Learn how to set it up on your Apple Watch and iPhone today.
Essential phone settings to enable before losing your device, including Find My network, location services and security features for iPhone and Android.
The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.
Cybersecurity research shows weak passwords remain a major threat, with simple patterns and number sequences putting millions of accounts at risk.
New Android malware BankBot YNRK silences phones, steals banking data and drains crypto wallets automatically. Learn how this advanced threat works.
FDA approves first human trial for Paradromics' brain-computer interface that could restore speech for paralyzed patients through neural technology.
New phishing platform QRR targets Microsoft 365 users across 1,000 domains in 90 countries. Learn how to spot fake login pages and protect your accounts.

Asphalt Paving: Striping Your Parking Lot

As you may already know, asphalt paved parking lots do... Read More

7 Reasons To Take Control Of Your Small Business? Checking Needs

Business checks are available in many styles and varieties. They... Read More

Is Your Business Making Money?

Is your business making money? Would you know?Figuring out whether... Read More

Why Small Businesses Fail (or Fail to Thrive)

Tammy, a skilled and gifted horticulturist, called me to discuss... Read More

Bad Regulators Cost Small Businesses

When a regulator finds a target to go after to... Read More

A Day in the Life of a Self Employed Professional

It's Monday morning and Connie the Consultant sits in her... Read More

(P)Refer to Grow Your Business

(Although this article is geared towards small business owners, the... Read More

Change May Be Your Ace in the Hole

Whether it has been thrust upon you by external market... Read More

Bogus Investor and Consumer Complaints and Consumer Misrepresentation

Like most regulatory bodies in the United States, the Federal... Read More

Dispute Resolution of Territory for Mobile Franchised Companies

Franchisors of home based and mobile businesses need to carefully... Read More

Arranging Your Fundraiser

When deciding to host a fundraiser for your company or... Read More

Franchise Companies Come and Go

Each day we hear of companies entering the franchising industry.... Read More

Justice In Action

During the 1980 presidential campaign, candidate Ronald Reagan vowed, if... Read More

Top 10 Lessons for Small Business Success - As learned From My Twin 3 Year Olds

Small business success is very similar to learning to walk,... Read More

10 Filler Activities for the Summer Business Slowdown

Summer is a time for the outdoors, for that well-deserved... Read More

A Business Plan Is Not Worth A Cracker To A Struggling Business - A Plans The Last Thing It Needs

Before you start a business we encourage you to prepare... Read More

Essex Accountant: Accountancy Firm MVP for Your UK Business?

Most business owners know when they need an accountant, but... Read More

Alliances: What works, what does not

Why Alliances FailWhen do you know an alliance is falling... Read More

Starting a New Business in a Small Town

Q. I am a former pastor who left the ministry... Read More

Venus Transit - and Small Business?

On June 8, 2004, the world witnessed what no one... Read More

Franchising VS Business Opportunity; What is the Difference?

The modern Franchise business model and the much different business... Read More

How to Start Home Based Travel Businesses

Home based travel businesses are no longer the wave of... Read More

Top Ten Tips for Leveraging Conferences for Big SUCCESS!

As I am preparing for my attendance to the CoachVille's... Read More

11 Things Small Business Owners Can Learn From Rudy Giuliani

1. Leadership Is Learned ? While many people appear to... Read More

Low Cost or Highly Funded Start Up

Many new ventures are preoccupied with all the money they... Read More

reliable maid service Wilmette ..