A Texas man has been awarded $1.5 million after being harassed by debt collectors. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices to collect from individuals.

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a debt collector is someone who regularly collects debts owed to others. This includes collection agencies, lawyers who collect debts on a regular basis, and companies that buy delinquent debts and then try to collect them from you. The Act covers personal, family, and household debts, including money you owe on a personal credit card account, an auto loan, consumer debts, a medical bill, and your mortgage.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act doesn’t cover debts you incurred to run a business. In this case, the debt collectors left abusive voice mail messages.

Here are some web sites on the Act:

www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf

http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/