ATLANTA,None — Channel 2 consumer adviser Clark Howard has some advice to help consumers avoid being wrongly targeted by debt collection companies.
The Federal Trade Commission said there's an increase in complaints about debt tagging, a practice where debt collection companies contact people who don't really owe money.
One way to stop debt tagging is to know your rights.
"Understand that under the law, any collection agency that comes after you has to prove that it's your debt, so your first line of defense is to simply say, prove it," said Metro Atlanta Better Business Bureau's Fred Elsberry.
Victims should then check with the three credit reporting agencies to check for credit report mistakes, Howard said.
Howard said to also send the collection agency a "drop dead" letter, using the following template:
-------------------------
(Date)
To Whom It May Concern:
I have been contacted by your company about a debt you allege I owe. I am instructing you not to contact me further in connection with this debt. Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a federal law, you may not contact me further once I have notified you not to do so.
Sincerely,
(Name)
(Account No.)
WSBTV
