"Collections" refers broadly to the numerous tools that creditors have at their disposal to receive payment from debtors who are not paying what they owe. There are many Fairview Park, Ohio laws and regulations concerning the conduct of collections agencies, and what they can and cannot do in order to collect.

What if I Am Owed Money in Fairview Park, Ohio?

If someone owes you money and won't pay, you have some legal options to seek repayment of your debt. However, you need to be careful in this area. There are many laws and regulations detailing what debt collectors can and cannot do. Breaking these laws, even inadvertently, can harm your chances at collecting, and maybe even expose you to civil penalties.

For example, it should go without saying that creditors are not allowed to use threatened or actual violence when trying to collect. They are also not permitted to use abusive language to the debtor, or contact a third party about the debt.

What you can do, however, is send an invoice of the debt to the debtor, along with a firm (but civil) demand for timely payment. If the debt is substantial, you might also want to hire a collection agency in Fairview Park, Ohio. You should make sure that any agency you hire is trustworthy, and has not been cited for violations of the laws governing collections.

What if Someone Is Trying to Collect Money Against Me in Fairview Park, Ohio?

Of course, if you owe money and have the ability to pay it, you should do so. If the collections caller is behaving cordially, you should do the same. In any case, it is never a good idea to ignore the issue, because that will definitely not make it go away.

However, you do have some options in Fairview Park, Ohio. First of all, you should make an effort to get in direct contact with the creditor, as opposed to the collection agency, and try to work something out. If this fails, you can tell the collections agency to stop calling you, and they typically are obliged to do so. Of course, this doesn't eliminate the debt, but it can buy you some time. You should know, however, that when you show that you are not interested in dealing with the creditors or collectors directly, they will usually resort to a lawsuit.

If you have hired a Fairview Park, Ohio attorney to help you through this process, he or she might advise that you declare bankruptcy. Once this occurs, creditors are legally barred from attempting to collect against the debtor. Of course, this is a major decision, and should not be made lightly.

How Can a Fairview Park, Ohio Collections Attorney Help?

If you think that the collection agency is violating the law in its attempts to collect, you should probably call a Fairview Park, Ohio attorney, since such actions on the part of the creditor might actually give you a claim for damages against it.

If you are thinking about filing for bankruptcy, a good lawyer in Ohio can help you with that process, too.