Are debt collectors calling you early in the morning or late at night? Are they calling you at work when you have asked them not to? Has a collection agent threatened you with arrest if you do not pay the money you owe?

If you have suffered these or other types of conduct prohibited by law, you can stop debt collector harassment. You may even be entitled to compensation for the trouble that debt collectors have caused you.

Call Martin & Bontrager, APC, in Los Angeles at 323-940-1700 for a free consultation. We help people throughout California obtain relief from debt collector harassment.

While debt collectors have some latitude when contacting debtors, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) places restrictions on their conduct. Debt collectors cannot:

• Call before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. unless you have given them permission to do so
• Cause your phone to ring for extended periods of time or make repeated phone calls
• Contact you at work if you have asked them not to do so or your employer prohibits such calls
• Threaten to take legal action against you that is not permitted by law
• Make false statements in an effort to collect the debt, misrepresent the amount you owe, falsely claim to be an attorney or use stationery that is designed to look like an official court or government communication
• Use obscene or profane language
• Threaten you with arrest if you do not pay the debt

The FDCPA also provides consumers with other rights. A debt collector must tell you exactly how much you owe to the creditor and provide you with 30 days to contest the debt. You can also ask the debt collector to stop calling you and it must comply, with some exceptions.

Martin & Bontrager, APC, is a law firm dedicated to protecting the rights of consumers and stopping unfair and deceptive debt collection practices. Our lawyers have a record of success stopping debt collector harassment and other credit abuses, and we can take action on your behalf.

If a debt collector has violated the FDCPA, we can stop the harassment and calls. And you may be entitled to $1,000, plus actual out-of-pocket losses and attorney fees — from each debt collector who has violated the law.

It won’t cost you anything to hire us, because we take our fees from the debt collection agencies that have broken the law.