FAIR DEBT COLLECTION

                          Provided By
                     Charley Brown's Office
                        Attorney General
                  Consumer Protection Division

     Complaints ˙about ˙harrassment by debt collectors are ˙among 
the most numerous complaints ˙received by ˙my Consumer Protection 
Division.  ˙There are both federal and state laws to protect ˙you 
from unfair debt collection practices.   
     A debt collector may contact you in person, ˙in writing, ˙or 
by phone.  ˙However, ˙a ˙˙debt collector may not ˙contact ˙you at 
inconvenient ˙or ˙unusual ˙times ˙or at ˙work ˙if ˙your ˙employer 
disapproves. 
     You ˙may ˙stop ˙a collection agency from contacting ˙you ˙by 
writing ˙a ˙letter telling them to stop. ˙Once they receive ˙this 
letter, they may not contact you again. 
     No debt collector may threaten you with criminal prosecution 
to scare you into paying a bill.  ˙A collection agency cannot sue 
you, garnish your wages, or seize collateral on it's own. 
     Collection ˙agencies ˙cannot ˙use obscene language ˙or ˙make 
false ˙statements ˙when collecting a debt.  ˙In most cases, ˙˙the 
collector is ˙not ˙allowed to tell anyone other than you or ˙your 
attorney that you owe money.  
     If ˙you ˙should encounter problems with ˙a ˙debt ˙collection 
agency, ˙please contact my Consumer Protection Agency, ˙toll free 
in West Virginia, at 1-800-368-8808.