U.S customs

by Veronica
(California)

A collector called a friend of mine , saying that I needed to contact them in 24 hrs, if I didnt they were going to serve me with papers. Since I'm out of the country she metioned that and the person said that if I tried to come back I would have a problem with us customs. Is this possible?

Comments for U.S customs

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Dec 05, 2011

U.S customs
by: Debtcollectionanswers.com

No Veronica. You will not have any problems returning to the U.S. because you owe a past due debt. U.S. Customs is not in the business of helping private debt collectors collect debt. The debt collector is only trying to scare you into paying what you owe.

Also, it sounds to me like the collector who called your friend violated not only the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act but California's own debt collection law, the Rosenthal Act, as well. These laws state that collectors are only entitled to contact someone else about a past due debt you owe if they need to find out how to get in touch with you directly, and when they call someone else, they are not permitted to say why they want to reach you.

I recommend that you become more familiar with your debt collection rights and that if the collector who contacted your friend continues his unlawful behavior or does other things that violate your rights that you contact a consumer law attorney. But first, you should understand what a collector can and can't do to collect a debt. The best way to do that is to purchase a copy of the California edition of our ebook Debt Collection Answers: How to Use Debt Collection Laws to Protect Your Rights. You can read the first chapter of Debt Collection Answers online for free. Also, I recommend that you download our Free Debt Collection Worksheet and use it to keep a record of what happens whenever you are contacted by the collector. Ideally, you should begin your record keeping by writing down what the collector said to your friend, when it was said, the date of the conversation, etc. It is this sort of record keeping that can help establish a pattern of unlawful behavior on the part of a collector, and having that record will make it more likely that a consumer law attorney would be willing to represent you if you wanted to take legal action against the collector. Here are some resources that can help you if you continue to have problems with this particular collector or another one, consumer law attorney.

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