BCA Financial Services Collection Agency

 

TOP 10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT DEBT COLLECTION IN NEW YORK CITY

1. A debt collection agency cannot claim to represent a government agency. Debt collectors cannot make false claims that they are marshals, sheriffs or a District Attorney’s Office representative. They cannot threaten to arrest a consumer, report a consumer to immigration authorities or claim that a consumer has committed a crime.

2. Debt collectors cannot threaten to have consumers evicted.

3. A debt collection representative cannot threaten to take your money. Debt collectors cannot threaten to garnish wages, take the money from a consumer’s bank account, or take personal belongings without first obtaining a judgment against you in court.

4. A debt collection agency cannot threaten New Yorkers with violence. Debt collectors cannot engage in acts of violence, threats of violence, or obscene language.
5. Debt collectors cannot call too early, too late or too often. In New York City, debt collectors cannot call you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. They also cannot call you more than twice a week if the collector has made contact with you.
6. Debt collectors cannot lie about the amount owed. A debt collection agency cannot claim the debt owed is greater than it is or claim a consumer owes the debt when they do not.
7. A debt collection agency must tell you that the statute of limitations for collecting the debt has expired.
8. A collection agency cannot reveal your debt to anyone but you. It is illegal for debt collectors to advertise a consumer’s debt or reveal it to anyone, including family members and neighbors.
9. A debt collector cannot contact your employer, family, friends and neighbors. A collector can only contact someone other than the consumer to locate the consumer. Collectors cannot discuss the alleged debt with anyone other than consumer.
10. Protect your money. If a debt collection agency is unlicensed, fails to give you information required by law, or unlawfully threatens or harasses you, call 311 or visit nyc.gov/consumers to file a complaint with the Department of Consumer Affairs.
WHAT TO DO IF A DEBT COLLECTION AGENCY CONTACTS YOU

Check that the debt collection agency is licensed. Debt collection agencies must include their DCA license number in all letters sent to you. To verify if a debt collection agency is licensed, call 311 (212-NEW-YORK outside NYC) or search DCA’s Instant License Check, available online at nyc.gov/consumers.
Check that the debt collection agency provided required information. By law, debt collection agencies must provide the following information in all communications to you the name of the debt collection agency, the name of the original creditor, the amount of the debt, a call-back number to a phone that is answered by a live person, and the name of that person. If your call is routed from the agency’s main telephone line, the live person qualified to handle your questions must answer the call within 60 seconds.
Request in writing that a debt collector send you proof of the debt as soon as you are contacted by a debt collector. The documentation provided to you must include proof that you owe the debt from the original creditor and documents that show the total principal amount you owe and additional charges or fees incurred.
Confirm if you owe the debt by checking your credit report.
Check how old the debt is. If the statute of limitations on the debt is expired, the collector must disclose this information to you, along with information about your legal rights. The statute of limitations is the period of time that a creditor or collector can sue you in court to collect the debt.
Please note: BCA Financial Services has always kept up to date with new laws especially the ones listed above. BCA is registered as a collection agency in NYC. BCA has never, as a rule and in conformance with the Federal FDCPA, violated the above rules nor have our collectors ever employed such tactics to collect money.  

BCA Financial Services complies strictly with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

Know your rights under this Federal Law. Click Here for the entire law.