Legalities

Legalities, a weekly column that appears in the Help section of the Southern Illinoisan, is a free service of the Self Help Legal Center. You can visit the Southern Illinoisan website at: http://www.southernillinoisan.com

Q: I routinely get calls from a local store about bills that I owe. A friend told me that debt collectors can not call you after a certain time. Is that right? If so, then why is this store allowed to break the law?

A: Your friend is right. Unfortunately, the law your friend is referring to does not apply to your situation.

If you don't pay a bill on time, if you miss or are late with a monthly, weekly, or annual payment, or if you owe someone money for some other reason, the creditor (the person or business you owe the debt) will usually contact you first. This contact may be in person, by mail, or by telephone. When they contact you, they might threaten to repossess your property, to sue you, to garnish your wages, to report you to a collection agency, to report you to a credit bureau, or all of the above.

Under state and federal law, a collection agency is prohibited from doing the following: calling a debtor before 8 am or after 9pm, using obscene or profane language, contacting you at work if your employer disapproves, using threats of violence or harm, repeatedly calling just to annoy the debtor, calling anyone without identifying themselves or using a false name, and/or falsely implying that they are operating with a credit bureau or a local, state, or federal governmental agency.

These laws, however, only apply to collection agencies, not creditors. There are no debt collection laws that cover creditors, so they can pretty much say whatever they want and call you whenever they want. Your only relief from this type of harassment is the same relief you would have if anyone harassed you over the telephone. Namely, to change your telephone number, to get an unlisted number, or to contact the police. If anyone continually calls or comes to your door or your place of work to either harass or threaten you, you should think seriously about contacting the police.

For more information about your rights as a debtor, visit our website at /selfhelp. Click on the consumer icon.

Do you have a legal question? Write us at Self Help Legal Center, SIU School of Law, Mailcode 6804, Carbondale, Illinois or e-mail us at selfhelp@siu.edu. Not all questions will be answered and may be edited for space or content.

Legalities is written by the Self Help Legal Center, a public service of the SIU School of Law. The Self Help Legal Center cannot provide legal representation. It can, however, help you find the answer to your legal problem. This column is for general legal information purposes only and the advice given in this column may not apply to your situation. For specific legal advice about your situation, you should consult an attorney licensed to practice in Illinois. This column is not meant to give legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship.