Debt collectors have rules too

July 12, 2009

In your article (“Recession’s a bear for debt collection agencies’’ (GlobeWest, July 2), you neglect to mention that when debt is harder to collect, debt collectors violate the law more often.

Consumers who are contacted by debt collectors have rights under both federal and state law, and in many cases are entitled to recover damages for violations.

As a consumer attorney who has successfully sued many debt collectors over the past 15 years, I can say that violations of law are very common.

You can go to the websites of the National Consumer Law Center or the Massachusetts attorney general’s office to get a good summary of what your rights are.

Elizabeth A. Miller
Auburndale