02-4-2009

Rep. Ernie Shand
802-674-5021

The Attorney General’s office has provided the House Commerce Committee with some information which may be helpful if you or someone you know is having problems with an overly aggressive debt collection. Are you are behind on your credit card payments, your home mortgage, a personal loan or other debt? If so, you may be contacted by the creditor or a debt collection agency. While the law doesn’t prevent reasonable attempts to collect real debts, the law does protect you from abusive debt collection. Examples of abusive debt collection are calls from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m., threats, harassment, and deceptive communications.

Also, creditors and debt collectors may not contact:

• You at your workplace, once you ask not to be contacted there.
• Your employer or any member of your family, unless there is a judgment against you.
• Any other person about your debt.
• You, once you notify the credit or debt collector that you are represented by a lawyer and that all contacts should be addressed to your lawyer.

You have these additional rights under the law as to a debt collection agency:
• The agency must send you a written notice containing the amount of the debt, the name of the creditor, and what action to take if you believe you don’t owe the money.
• You can stop future contact (other that notification that some action is being taken, like filing a lawsuit) by writing a letter telling the agency to stop.
• An agency may not contact you if, within 30 days after the first contact, you send it a letter stating that you don’t owe the money; but the collector can renew collection activities if you sent proof of the debt, such as a copy of your bill.

For consumer credit counseling, you might want to contact the non-profit Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Vermont and New Hampshire, P.O. Box 676, Concord, NH 03302, 1-800-327-6778. The Vermont Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program’s phone number is 1-800-649-2424, and the email is consumercomplaint@atg.state.vt.us.

I am always glad to hear from constituents. My legislative e-mail is eshand@leg.state.vt.us  the snail mail address is 115 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05633-5201. You can call the Statehouse and leave a message with the Sergeant at Arms 1-800-322-5616 or 802-828-2228. My home phone is 1-802-674-5021. My home mailing address is 46 Old Bridge Rd., Weathersfield, VT 05089-0965.