Home
>
Small Business
>
Dont Let Your Small Business Fall in the FDCPA Trap

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.

tidy up service Glenview ..

In The News:

Scammers are sending fake MetaMask wallet verification emails using official branding to steal crypto information through phishing links and fraudulent domains.

Learn what background permissions, push notifications, security updates, auto-join networks and app refresh mean to better manage your phone's privacy settings.

Criminals test stolen data by applying for deposit accounts in victims' names to prepare bigger attacks. Learn why banks won't share fraud details.

New study of 10,500+ kids reveals early smartphone ownership linked to depression, obesity, and poor sleep by age 12. Earlier phones mean higher risks.

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.