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Susanne Robicsek
Charlotte NC Consumer Lawyer
1701 Scott Avenue, Charlotte NC 28203
(704) 377-0776
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North Carolina Bankruptcy Lawyer in Charlotte NC for Chapter 7 / Chapter 13
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Are creditors and debt collectors allowed to call your family, friends or neighbors?
The short answer to this is "yes they can" but that doesn't mean that they can tell people about your debts.
Creditors are allowed to call people for the purpose of locating the debtor, but they are not allowed to reveal any personal
information about the debtor or the purpose of the call. However they must identify themselves as a debt collector,
so people often conclude that you probably owe someone some money. If asked, they must reveal the name of the company
that they work for.
While the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), does allow creditors to try to locate your home or work address, it protects you from certain actions
by creditors and debt collectors. The creditor is not allowed to give out any details about your account
number or tell anyone that you are late your payments. The collector can not give out any information about you except
for your name and address, and they can't ask the person to give you a message. However they call with
the hope that the person will come to you and tell you that they called looking for you. They want you to be embarrassed
by the fact that they called since they want you to pay them to keep this from happening again.
Chances are that if collection efforts get to the point that collectors are calling your friends and neighbors,
you probably should speak to a bankruptcy lawyer about your bankruptcy options. Many bankruptcy lawyers can talk to
you about the whether or not your rights have been violated by your creditors, or provide ways to help you stop the calls
completely. Bankruptcy can stop all calls from collectors and either wipe out most unsecured debts in Chapter 7, or put
you into an affordable repayment plan in Chapter 13 that can reduce the debts substantially or spread out debts over time.
Regardless, the creditors must leave you alone.
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