Debt Collection Forms
Debt Collection Form: Need More Information
Debt Collection Form: Stop Contacting
Debt Collection Form: Judgement Proof
Debt Collection Form: Need More Information
Debt Collection Form: Stop Contacting
Debt Collection Form: Judgement Proof
This consumer protection guide is designed to help you avoid some of the problems consumers routinely face. Unfortunately, everyday activities – such as answering the phone, responding to an email, or making a purchase – can expose consumers to scams like identity theft, aggressive telemarketing, and charity fraud. The good news is that the Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Protection can help.
This guide contains information and tools to help you protect yourself before something happens. However, should you or a loved one become a victim of a scam, our office has a dedicated team of lawyers, investigators, and mediators who are here to help. Should you need our assistance, please call (202) 442-9828. You can also file a complaint online by emailing consumer.protection@dc.gov or writing to: the Office of the Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Protection, 441 4th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001.
You recently graduated from college and now you need to figure out how to pay off your student loans. You start to see ads on the internet that say “Obama Wants to Forgive Your Student Loans!” or “Get Rid of Student Loan Debt NOW!” You click on one of the ads and go to a website for a company that says it can help with your student loan debt. When you call the company, a representative promises to lower your monthly payments by hundreds of dollars for an upfront fee of “only $800.” What should you do?
Repaying your student loans can be an overwhelming, complicated, and intimidating experience. As many former students find themselves struggling with rising debt, there has been an increase in student loan debt relief scams. Many of these scams take advantage of consumers by offering bogus services and charging high fees for loan consolidations that can be obtained for free through federal government programs. Scammers will target borrowers through online ads, social media, phone calls, and even mail sent to your home.
If you have federal student loans, you should not have to pay to consolidate your loans or switch payment plans. The U.S. Department of Education offers free services to borrowers who wish to consolidate their loans. The Department of Education also offers numerous repayment plans, including plans that let borrowers set their monthly payments based on their income. Depending on the types of loans, consolidating some loans may exclude you from certain types of loan forgiveness programs. For more information regarding these free services, please see the Office of the Attorney General’s Student Loan Resource Guide.
You should never have to pay for information about how to repay your student loans. If you took out federal student loans to help pay for college, assistance is always available to you for free through the U.S. Department of Education (studentaid.ed.gov or 877-557-2575) or your federal loan servicer—the company to whom you make payments. You may also want to contact your school’s financial aid office. If you need information about private loans, you should contact your loan servicer for assistance.
It can be difficult to know where to go for help when you are having trouble making your student loan payments. If you have borrowed from a private lender, often that lender will consider different repayment plans if you cannot afford your payments. If you have federal loans, remember only the U.S. Department of Education can consolidate, forgive, or lower the amount you pay on your federal loans, and it’s always free to work with your loan servicer or the federal government directly to change your repayment terms if needed.
For more information regarding these free services, please see the Office of the Attorney General’s Student Loan Resource Guide. There are also many other organizations that provide free advice regarding student debt relief for both federal and private loans, including:
National Consumer Law Center’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project:
http://www.studentloanborrowerassistance.org
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/paying-for-college/repay-student-debt
Department of Education’s Federal Student Aid Office:
https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans
You can file a complaint with the District of Columbia Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Protection by calling our Consumer Hotline at (202) 442-9828, emailing us (consumer.protection@dc.gov), or by writing to the Office of Consumer Protection at the Office of the Attorney General, 441 4th Street NW, Suite 600-S, Washington, DC 20001.
You can also contact the U.S. Department of Education by calling 877-557-2575, or by writing to the U.S. Department of Education, FSA Ombudsman Group, P.O. Box 1843, Monticello, KY 42633. You may also submit complaints to the Department of Education online at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/disputes/prepare/contact-ombudsman.
A roommate tells you a debt collector called asking for you. That same debt collector has left messages with your family, at your workplace, and keeps calling you early in the morning and late at night. What do you do?
Unfortunately, many consumers have incurred debts they have difficulty repaying. In other cases, consumers are harassed to repay a debt that isn’t even theirs. Fortunately, there are federal and District of Columbia laws that protect consumers and prohibit debt collectors from using certain practices that may be abusive, unfair, or deceptive to consumers. Under these laws, there are steps that you can take to limit a debt collector’s contact with you or to learn more about the debt collector’s claim. You can also report problematic collection practices to the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia.
Debt collectors can call you to talk to you about your debt. When they call you, they must identify themselves as debt collectors.
But, they cannot:
Debt collectors can contact other people if they are trying to locate you.
But, they cannot:
Within the first 30 days:
When debt collectors first contact you, they should tell you the amount that you owe, the name of the creditor, and that you have 30 days to dispute the debt in writing.
If, within 30 days of being first contacted by the debt collector, you write disputing the debt, or requesting the name and address of the original creditor, the debt collector must stop all collection efforts until they provide you with the information you sought: verifying the debt, or identifying the creditor. (Click here for a letter you can use)
After the first 30 days:
You can still write to dispute the debt 30 days after being contacted by the debt collector, and the debt collector must still verify the debt or identify the creditor. But debt collectors do not have to stop all collection efforts while these later requests are pending.
You can write a letter to the debt collector telling them to stop contacting you. (Click here for a letter you can use) After receiving your letter, a debt collector should not contact you again except to say there will be no further contact or to notify you that they intend to take some specific action.
This letter does not make the debt go away if you actually owe it. The debt collector can still sue you or report negative information to credit reporting agencies. But, if debt collectors call to ask you to pay after they receive this letter, they are violating the law.
Certain forms of income are generally protected from collection by creditors, such as:
If your only source of income is one of these, you can write to the debt collector to tell them about your protected income. (Click here for a letter you can use)
Generally, a debt collector must bring an action to sue you on the debt within three years of when you made your last payment on the account. If they have waited longer than this, they may have lost their right to sue you in court.
The debt may still appear on your credit report, however, as most debts can remain on your credit report for seven years.
Under District law, debt collectors cannot add their costs to the debt. But they can add legal fees of up to 15% of the debt if your contract with the creditor allows this.
Do not ignore the court papers! The summons will give you a certain number of days to file a written response and to appear in court. It is important to respond, especially if you do not believe that the debt is yours or if you don’t owe as much as the debt collector claims. If you do not respond to the summons, a judgment may be entered against you and the debt collector can attempt to garnish your wages or take funds from your bank account.
If you have been sued and can’t afford a lawyer, you can contact:
File a complaint with the District of Columbia Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Protection by:
Office of Consumer Protection
Office of the Attorney General
441 Fourth Street, N.W., Suite 600 South
Washington, D.C. 20001
Below you'll find links to PDF versions of this information in English and Spanish:
You receive a telephone call from a group claiming to be raising money for the families of local police officers killed in the line of duty. The caller says that the organization must raise $5,000 in the next three days to be able to fully fund scholarships for children of deceased officers and asks whether they can send someone to your home to pick up a donation towards this great cause.
Making charitable donations to help others can be very rewarding. Federal and local laws provide tax benefits for making such donations. However, scammers know that and often try to take advantage of those incentives and the generosity of consumers. Here are some tips to follow to be sure that your charitable dollars are being used for your intended purpose.
Check out the charity before you give
Warning signs—charities to avoid
The following are warning signs that should tell you to avoid making a contribution to a suspicious charity:
How to make responsible charitable donations
If you believe you have been the victim of a scammer or to report suspicious charitable solicitations or the misuse of charitable funds, contact the Office of the Attorney General:
Below you'll find links to PDF versions of this information in English and Spanish:
“Congratulations, you have just been selected to win $10,000! All you have to do is send a small payment to cover shipping and processing and we’ll send you your prize!”
This might sound too good be true -- and it likely is. Scammers often use fake prize notices to take advantage of optimistic victims, who provide their hard-earned money up front and eagerly await the arrival of prize money that never comes.
You can protect yourself by learning how to spot the red flags of Lottery and Sweepstakes Scams.
The D.C. Lottery will never contact consumers unless they specifically enter into a promotional game sponsored by the D.C. Lottery.
It is against federal law to participate in a foreign lottery, so no foreign lottery representatives should be contacting you for your information.
Unlike a lottery, a legitimate prize promotion should notrequire any purchase or payment of money for a consumer to participate or win.
The federal government does not oversee sweepstakes, and no federal government agency will contact you to ask for money in order to claim a prize.
If you think you are being targeted by a lottery or sweepstakes scam, remember these three easy rules:
You can file a complaint with the Attorney General for the District of Columbia’s Office of Consumer Protection by calling our Consumer Hotline at (202) 442-9828, emailing (consumer.protection@dc.gov), or writing to the Office at:
Office of Consumer Protection
Office of the Attorney General
441 4th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
You may file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580; (877) 382-4357; www.ftc.gov.
If the notice came in the mail, you may also file a mail fraud complaint with the United States Postal Inspection Service at https://www.uspis.gov/report/.
Below you'll find links to PDF versions of this information in English and Spanish:
Your application for a loan is denied or you are only offered a very high interest rate even though you have a long history of good credit. When you review your credit report, you see unpaid debts that are not your own. What should you do?
The Federal Trade Commission has reported that as many as one out of every five consumer credit reports contains errors that could negatively affect consumers’ credit histories and scores, making it harder to get credit. The good news is that there are several easy steps you can take to review your credit report and remove errors that may negatively impact your credit history.
Your credit history can determine whether you qualify for a new line of credit and the interest rate you will be asked to pay. Lenders get your credit history by obtaining your credit report and reviewing your credit score. Your credit score is calculated by information contained in your credit report. Most credit reports are prepared by one of three national credit reporting agencies:
TransUnion
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92834-6790
(800) 680-7289
transunion.com
Experian
P.O. Box 9532
Allen, TX 75013
(888) 397-3742
experian.com
Equifax
P.O. Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
(800) 525-6285
equifax.com
Although each credit reporting agency formats and reports the information in their credit reports differently, all credit reports contain the same four categories of information.
It's a good idea to check your credit reports from time to time, especially before applying for a major loan or a mortgage, so you can have the credit reporting agency correct any errors. Fortunately, you can do this for free. The Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) allows consumers to receive a free copy of their credit report once a year from each of the three national credit reporting agencies. This means you can review your credit report three times a year for free (one free report from each agency).
In order to request a free copy of your credit report, you must use the central toll-free number, address or website set up by the three national credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion):
You will be asked to provide personal information, including your name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number, when you request your free credit report. This is necessary to prevent identity thieves from obtaining copies of your credit report. Do not provide this personal information to suspicious or unofficial services.
AnnualCreditReport.com will not send you emails or phone calls offering your annual credit report or asking for your personal information.
Every day on television, radio and in the mail, we hear and see ads from companies promising to repair your credit or raise your credit score. They can charge high fees and provide limited assistance. There are several easy steps you can take to avoid being the victim of a credit repair scam and monitor and repair your own credit.
You can file a complaint with the District of Columbia Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Protection by calling our Consumer Hotline at (202) 442-9828, by email (consumer.protection@dc.gov), or by writing to the Office at:
Office of Consumer Protection
Office of the Attorney General
441 4th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20001
Below you'll find links to PDF versions of this information in English and Spanish:
Your new car is only a couple of months old, makes an unusual noise, and vibrates every time you drive at a higher speed. You repeatedly take it to the dealer that sold you the car, but despite its best efforts, the same problem keeps coming back. If this is happening to you, you may have purchased a “lemon” and may be entitled to either a similar replacement vehicle or a refund of the purchase price, minus a reasonable allowance for the miles on the vehicle.
If you are experiencing mechanical problems with your new car, you should immediately contact an authorized dealer to have it checked out. In most cases, the manufacturer’s warranty that comes with your vehicle will cover any needed repair at no cost to you. Your warranty will tell you which parts and systems of your vehicle are covered and for how long. Be sure to follow the instructions in your warranty carefully as to what steps you must take in order to get your vehicle repaired. In most cases, if you need repairs, you must have them done by an authorized dealer, although you should not have to use the same dealer who sold you your vehicle.
In some cases, however, the dealer may be unable to fix your vehicle’s problem. If that is the case, you may have a lemon. If you feel that you have purchased a lemon, you can report it to the Office of the Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Protection either by calling 202-442-9828 or by writing to the Office of Consumer Protection.
For a vehicle to qualify under the Lemon Law, you either need to experience a significant problem with your vehicle or the same problem has to be subjected to a reasonable number of repair attempts by an authorized dealer and continue to exist after these attempts at repair.
For example:
If the manufacturer, its agent, or its authorized dealer is unable to repair or correct any nonconformity or defect after a reasonable number of attempts, the manufacturer must either repurchase or replace the vehicle, at your option.
If you decide to return the vehicle to the manufacturer for a refund, the manufacturer must refund to you:
When replacing a vehicle, the manufacturer must provide you with a new, comparable vehicle. The reasonable allowance for use does not apply to a replacement.
Keep a record of every repair visit, including every invoice or repair order from the dealer. You may also want to keep a log of every problem you experience with your vehicle, including the date and time when you experience each problem.
Document everything! This includes taking notes of who you talk to, what is said, dates and times. Submit your complaints in writing and keep a copy for yourself.
Always insist that the dealer provide you with an invoice or repair order for each attempt to repair your vehicle. Make sure that invoice or repair order fully describes the defect for each repair visit.
Be careful not to buy someone else’s lemon. When dealerships resell a lemon they are required to include the words “manufacturer's buyback”. If you see those words you know that another consumer had a problem with the vehicle.
Below you'll find links to PDF versions of this information in English and Spanish:
While reviewing your credit card statement, you notice a series of charges that you do not recognize. You later get a collection call from a creditor for a late payment on an account that you never opened. You likely have become the victim of identity theft. Identity theft is a crime in which an imposter obtains your personal information (such as your Social Security number, date of birth, or driver's license number) and uses your identity to do things like open credit accounts in your name, purchase merchandise and services using your credit card, or obtain false credentials, such as an identification card.
Identity theft usually occurs when a thief steals documents from your home, mailbox, garbage, wallet, or steals data from a retailer, health care provider or other company with which you did business. It can also happen when scammers trick consumers into revealing their personal information via the Internet — a practice called “phishing” — or through unsolicited telephone calls. The good news is there are several simple steps you can take if you become the victim of identity theft.
One of the most frequent warning signs that your personal information has been compromised is that you receive a notice that a company where you do business or have an account has experienced a data breach. This means a thief or hacker compromised the company’s security and may have stolen some of your personal information. Other warning signs that your personal information may have been stolen by an identity thief include:
1. File a police report. In the District of Columbia, the Financial and Cyber Crimes Unit of the Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”) handles identity theft complaints. You should file a complaint with MPD and ask for a police report. MPD can be contacted as follows:
2. Report the theft to your financial institutions. Immediately call and report the theft to the security or fraud department of each company with which you have an account. Follow up in writing, and include copies (NOT originals) of supporting documents. It’s important to notify credit card companies and banks in writing. Send such letters by certified mail, return receipt requested, so you can document what the company received and when. Keep a file of your correspondence and enclosures. If the identity thief has made charges or debits on your accounts, or has fraudulently opened new accounts, ask the company to close the accounts or replace your credit cards. Also ask the company to send you forms to dispute those transactions:
3. Review your credit report. You should check your credit report regularly for any unusual entries, such as inquiries from companies you haven't contacted, accounts you didn't open, and debts in your name that you don’t recognize. You are entitled to one free copy of your credit report every year from each of the national credit reporting bureaus. You are also entitled to a free credit report if you either place a fraud alert or security freeze on your credit report (see below). You can obtain a free copy of your credit report either by calling one of the three national credit reporting agencies or by visiting https://www.annualcreditreport.com. You can contact the three national credit reporting agencies by phone, mail or online:
4. Place fraud alerts or security freezes on your accounts. Most businesses will not open a new credit account without first checking your credit report. You can place either a fraud alert or security freeze on your credit report. This alerts businesses who check your credit report that you have been an identity theft victim before they open an account in your name.
TransUnion | Experian | Equifax |
---|---|---|
P.O. Box 6790 |
P.O. Box 9532 |
P.O. Box 740241 |
(800) 680-7289 |
(888) 397-3742 |
(800) 525-6285 |
Fraud alerts can help prevent an identity thief from opening accounts in your name. A fraud alert notifies potential creditors that they should take steps to verify your identity before getting a copy of your credit report. To have a fraud alert placed on your credit report, you can contact the three national credit reporting agencies.
A security freeze (also known as a credit freeze) restricts access to your credit reports, which makes it more difficult for identity thieves to open new accounts in your name. A security freeze does not prevent a thief from making charges to your existing accounts, so you may want to consider closing bank or credit card accounts that may have been compromised. A credit freeze does not affect your credit score. A credit freeze does not stop you from opening a new account, applying for a job, renting an apartment, or buying insurance. But if you’re doing any of these, you’ll need to lift the freeze temporarily, either for a specific time or for a specific party, such as a potential employer or landlord.
How do I place a freeze on my credit reports?
Contact each of the three credit reporting agencies (see above) and provide the following:
How do I lift a freeze?
Who can access my credit report once it has been frozen?
For additional information, visit the Federal Trade Commission’s website on identity theft at http://ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/ or write Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580. For an identity theft recovery plan you can call the FTC's Identity Theft Hotline, toll-free: 1-877-ID-THEFT (438-4338); TTY: 1-866-653-4261 or visit https://IdentityTheft.gov.
Below you'll find links to PDF versions of this information in English and Spanish:
You get a call in the evening. The person on the phone is very friendly and wants to offer you a way to lower the rate on your credit cards. How do you know if the call is legitimate? While there are many trustworthy companies that use the telephone for marketing, it's sometimes hard to tell the difference between reputable telemarketers and the con artists who use the phone to take your hard earned money. Telemarketing scams target as many as 17.6 million Americans annually and as much as $40 billion dollars a year are lost to phone scams. You can protect yourself by learning how to recognize the danger signs of telemarketing scams.
Most telemarketing calls are subject to local and federal laws that require telemarketers to promptly identify themselves at the beginning of the call. Telemarketers are also prohibited from calling you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. Telemarketers must also disclose that the purpose of the call is to sell a good or service and they must inform consumers of their cancellation and refund policies.
Register on the “Do Not Call” List. If you want to stop unwanted telemarketing calls, you can add your phone number to the national “Do Not Call” Registry by either calling 888-382-1222 or visiting www.donotcall.gov to register your phone number; include both your home and mobile phone. You should also ask callers to put your phone number on their own internal do not call lists.
Do not answer anonymous calls. Many phones come with caller ID features. Telephone service providers also offer this service. If you do not recognize the caller, do not answer the phone. Often telemarketers will keep calling a phone number if they know a live person will pick up the phone.
Use a Blocking Service. There are call blocking programs (“apps”) and services offered by telephone service providers (smart phones tend to have these apps as well) that may be used to block unwanted calls. These programs or services can block certain types of calls such as anonymous calls or specific phone numbers.
Do not share your phone number. Each time you share your number with a business, or provide it in connection with a prize offer, this increases the likelihood that either the recipient will call you or will sell your number to another telemarketer. This is because businesses or other organizations that collect consumer information can sell consumer lists without your permission to other businesses, including telemarketers.
You can file a complaint with the District of Columbia Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Protection by calling (202) 442-9828, email (consumer.protection@dc.gov), or by writing to the Office of Consumer Protection at the Office of the Attorney General.
You may also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20580; (877) 832-4357; www.ftc.gov.
Below you'll find links to PDF versions of this information in English and Spanish: