Who is considered a debt collector in Florida?

Under the FCCPA, debt collectors are defined more broadly as “any person” in any business or any person who regularly collects or attempts to collect debts owed or due. Fla. Stat. § 559.55 (7) .

Can a debt collector contact your place of work?

One common consumer complaint is that a debt collector is contacting a consumer’s place of work, family, or friends, in an attempt to collect a debt. In fact, there is an entire section of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) that regulates debt collection calls to third parties.

Who is not a collection agency in Florida?

The term does not include: (a) Any officer or employee of a creditor while, in the name of the creditor, collecting debts for such creditor;

What to do if a debt collector tells family members about your debt?

You can report a debt collector who has violated your rights regarding your debt to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Finally, consider speaking with an attorney about filing a lawsuit against a collection agency that’s violated your rights by telling your family members about your debt.

When does a debt collection agency call you?

You can become stressed out whenever the phone rings; what’s worse is when the caller doesn’t tell you which debt collection agency he or she is calling from. Debt collectors use many different phone numbers. Sometimes, the collectors are even in different call centers located all around the country while sometimes they use local numbers.

Are there any debt collection agencies in Florida?

In 2019 a data breach at American Medical Collection Agency (AMCA) collection agency had a data breach that exposed the personal information of 1.25 million Florida residents, the agency eventually went out of business. Security of your data, adherence to debt collection laws is extremely important when selecting a collection agency.

One common consumer complaint is that a debt collector is contacting a consumer’s place of work, family, or friends, in an attempt to collect a debt. In fact, there is an entire section of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) that regulates debt collection calls to third parties.

Can a debt collector call a friend or family member?

Debt collectors are legally allowed to call your friends or family to try to locate you. But they cannot call these people to try to collect the payment for the debt, and they are only allowed to call once unless they believe there may be new information to be found.