Georgia Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

Debt Collection agencies and creditors will apply pressure when collecting unpaid bills.  When payment dates are missed, the calls will come in along, perhaps, with letters that warn of severe consequences if the debt is not paid.  The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was enacted to protect consumers from unscrupulous practices, such as making misrepresentations, calling other people about your debt, causing the phone to ring an unbearable amount of times, or collecting more than what is actually owed.

Some states, such as Georgia, provide additional support for consumers who fall into hard times and have to deal with debt collections. Ga. Code. Ann. §§7-3-1 to 7-3-29.The Georgia statute covers industrial lenders and debt collectors only.   The law prohibits unreasonable collection tactics including physical harm, trespass (entering one’s property uninvited), holding the debtor up to public ridicule, simulated legal process, unreasonable communications, and visits between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.

The statute in Georgia provides a consumer with the private remedy of a single penalty of the greater of $100 or twice the amount of interest fees charged the borrower.  However, under this law class actions are strictly forbidden.