The Laws Concerning California Debt Consolidation And Debt Collection

Like every one of the United States, California maintains its own individual statute of limitations on debt reclamation. In the unlikely event of oral contracts – famously described by Hollywood producer and Los Angeles icon Samuel Goldwyn as not worth the paper they’re printed on – the statute of limitations would be two years, and, with the far more frequent written variety, the statute of limitations would be four years following the last recorded evidence of payment. While this may not be time enough to help every borrower, Californians should keep in mind that the relatively consumer friendly laws of their state are a third more amenable to recalcitrant borrowers than the six year statute of limitation still the average around most parts of America, and the local credit card debt relief efforts have that much greater a likelihood of success as a result.

Importantly, even though the Californian consumer would have no court mandated compulsion to repay his or her credit card debt accounts, this doesn’t mean that the collection firms (or, towards the beginning of the lapsed payments, the lenders themselves) would refrain from continuing any and all efforts to regain their money, regardless of the legality of their claims for recompense. To tell the truth, many of the telemarketers working the phones for minimum wage at the collection agency’s behest may not even know the first thing about statutes of limitations, and they might even be told specifically to ignore such protestations, whatever the underlying truths.

In the event you’re not already working with an attorney or debt settlement negotiation settlement to organize your financial affairs, the cleanest way to force collection agencies to refrain from further contact after the statute of limitations has ended should be to write down all the pertinent information from each telephone correspondent and mail a letter demanding the bill collector cease and desist all reclamation activities. Be sure to add that, should you pick up the phone and suffer through a single additional call, the California Attorney General’s office shall soon be sent the next complaint.

Apart from their own local debt relief protections, Californians in the twenty first century are also fortunate enough to be able to rely upon the Fair Debt Collection legislation signed into federal law by the United States Congress a few years ago. Unique to California residents, though, are a number of relatively unique statutes which could well help Golden State consumers alleviate tensions midst the rush for credit card debt reclamation. Specifically, the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act has set down regulations that may be invoked for the special aid of Californians.

According to the Rosenthal Act, collection agencies and lending institutions employing their own bill collectors have a number of specific restrictions with which they must comply else face considerable monetary penalties or even more severe consequences from state law enforcement authorities. Under this statute, Californian consumers have right to contact the state officials whenever they receive a phone call before eight in the morning or after nine at night, whenever the borrower’s employer or parents or neighbors are bothered, and whenever threatening or abusive language is utilized for the recapture of credit card debt or any other owed sum. If you’ve run into any difficulties with collection agents, make sure you go online or speak with a representative of the California Attorney General’s office to ensure that no other residents need worry over sleepless nights because of bill collector misdeeds.