(e) Communicating, by telephone or in person, with the debtor with such frequency as to be unreasonable and to constitute harassment to the debtor under the circumstances.
These are some strong consumer protection laws. There are similar Federal Laws that protect the consumer. You may use both state and federal laws to protect you from aggressive collections.
Upon a client's request and before the bankruptcy petition is filed, our office sends letters to the creditors and debt collectors stating all further communications regarding our client are to go through our office. This relieves our clients of the constant calls from creditors. The creditors usually contact us to verify representation and for an approximate date the bankruptcy petition will be filed. The calls to our clients stop. Usually, one letter stops the collection activities; the creditor makes a note on their collection file and waits for the Notice of Bankruptcy from the Court. Every once in a while it is necessary to take further action. If the consumer has to take further action there are statutory fees and damages for the consumer on a successful claim for wrongful collection.
One question I typically ask potential clients is if they know if any of their creditors are angry with them. An angry creditor is more likely to make problems or exhibit aggressive wrongful collection behavior. I believe the answer to this question is very important. It helps me prepare the client for possible opposition to the bankruptcy from the angry creditor and to make sure due diligence is taken regarding the information about the angry creditor and the debt. Preparation helps in resolving angry creditor issues quickly.
When our office receives the Order of Discharge we generate a special 'closing letter' with instructions and a call to action. The action is to obtain and review their credit report about 6 months after their discharge. By being proactive, when our clients' financial ducks are all in a row, they are ready to purchase a home or automobile.