All individuals, whether they have good or bad credit, experience everyday life events that may make them susceptible to unfair debt collection practices.

•  Have you fallen behind paying your bills?
•  Has a creditor mistakenly reported that you are late with your payments?
•  Have you forgotten about a debt that you owed?
• Have you recently moved, yet despite notification to your creditor, bills are still being sent to your prior address and now you are being contacted for nonpayment?
• Have you received medical treatment, yet despite paying your bill, an outside firm that handles the billing did not receive notice of your payment and has contacted you for nonpayment of your bill?
•  Have you gotten divorced and are being contacted about the debts of your former spouse?

If any of these scenarios sound familiar, a debt collector may be contacting you. Debt collectors, however, must act responsibly in their efforts to collect debt as provided for in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This Act prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair or deceptive practices to collect debt from consumers and is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Read this booklet to learn your rights. Be an Informed Consumer....We can Help!

Visit: www.NJConsumerAffairs.gov, or Call: 1-888-656-6225

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Last Updated: 02/02/24