Stop Credit Harassment

Whether filing for Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 bankruptcy, seeking a debt settlement or other form of debt relief, the attorneys at the Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada firm of Peters & Associates, LLP can help put an immediate stop to late-night collection calls and other harassment from bill collectors and creditors. Our lawyers utilize the automatic stay provision in bankruptcy and the legal protections afforded by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, as well as any other legal tools at our disposal, to make sure you are not illegally threatened or harassed by creditors and bill collectors in their attempts at debt collection.

The Automatic Stay in Bankruptcy

The moment you file for bankruptcy, the court invokes an automatic stay, placing all your creditors on notice of the bankruptcy and prohibiting any further attempts at debt collection. The automatic stay will even stop a property foreclosure and/or lawsuit dead in its tracks. In order for a creditor to resume debt collection efforts during a bankruptcy, it must apply to the court for relief from the stay.

Even if a creditor is allowed to proceed with collection efforts, it must still refrain from harassing conduct if covered under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) or similar laws.

Fair Debt Collection

The FDCPA is a consumer-oriented law protecting consumers from over-zealous bill collectors. Professional bill collectors, or those who purchase outstanding debt, are prohibited from using violence, threats, obscenity, profanity, false or misleading representations when trying to collect a debt. It is illegal under the FDCPA for a bill collector to call merely for the purpose of annoying you.

Bill collectors are not allowed to publish your name on a list of people who owe money. They are limited in the contact they may have with your relatives or neighbors; they are limited in what they can ask and what they can say about you.

Debt collectors may not call you at inconvenient times, such as before eight in the morning or after nine at night. They may also be prohibited from contacting you at work if you have notified them that you are not allowed to receive calls there.

If the FDCPA has been violated, you can sue for money damages and attorneys' fees. Keep in mind that FDCPA only covers professional bill collectors and does not apply to the original creditor, such as a doctor's office, appliance store or credit card company. Of course, you may still have recourse against these entities if they engage in harassing behavior, and we can assist you in putting an end to such conduct. Don't let yourself be victimized by hostile or threatening creditors. Contact Peters & Associates, LLP to put an end to creditor harassment.