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Is Atlantic Credit & Finance calling you?*
Here's what you need to know.
Due to the growing national debt crisis, it is very common for people to be sent to collections through no fault of their own. People lose their jobs, receive disability, forget to pay or experience an economic downturn. No matter the reason, debt collectors will call, text, and e-mail you in order to recover a debt, and they can be very threatening. If you are being harassed by a debt collector, read about your rights below.
Your Rights Under the FDCPA
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) was passed in 1977 to protect consumers from being intimidated and harassed by third-party debt collectors. It regulates what collection agents may or may not do during their communications with consumers and prohibits actions like the following:
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Using profane and obscene language
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Calling you at work when they know that your workplace won’t let you take such calls
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Discussing the debt with anyone except you, your spouse, or your attorney
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Trying to collect an amount not authorized by law or by the original creditor agreement
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Calling you at all hours of the day and night
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Keep calling you and sending letters after you dispute a debt
Company Profile: Atlantic Credit & Finance
Atlantic Credit & Finance , Inc. or ACF is a third-party collection agency based in Virginia. ACF has received consumer complaints alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), such as communicating information about delinquent debts to unauthorized third parties and failing to provide written verification of debts. If Atlantic Credit & Finance has contacted you about delinquent financial obligations, make sure you understand your rights before you take action.
Hire an Attorney
The phone numbers for Atlantic Credit and Finance are:
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1-540-772-7800
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1-800-888-9419
If you see either of these numbers on your caller ID when the phone rings, be warned that a debt collector looking for you. If they are vague regarding your rights and threaten legal action that never transpires, hire a consumer attorney. If you sue for these infringements on your rights as an indebted consumer, you could potentially win $1,000 per FDCPA violation as well as attorney's fees, court costs, and any actual damages. The fact that you owe money does not give a debt collector license to intimidate you, a fact they ignore at their own professional risk.
Yvette Ford vs. Atlantic Credit & Finance
According to PACER**, on or about August, 2014, a debt allegedly incurred by California resident Yvette Ford was assigned to Atlantic Credit & Finance for collection. That month, a collector allegedly contacted Ms. Ford at her place of employment regarding the debt. During this conversation, she informed the collector that she could not take calls there due to company policy and to cease contacting her there.
Despite this request, Atlantic Credit & Finance allegedly continued to call Ms. Ford at work. When the calls allegedly continued until February 2015, she hired a consumer attorney and sued the agency for the following alleged FDCPA violations:
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Calling her at work when she had already advised that such calls were not allowed
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Using unfair and unconscionable means to collect a debt
The matter was later settled.
**Case taken from PACER (www.pacer.gov). File number is (Case 2:15-cv-01099-TLN-CKD from United States District Court for the Eastern District of California)
*Disclaimer:
The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be construed as legal advice. If you file a claim against Atlantic Credit & Finance or any other third-party collection agency, you may not be entitled to any compensation.