"Collections" refers to the practices engaged in by creditors designed to obtain payment from debtors who are not interested in paying what they owe. In Point Pleasant, West Virginia, there are various laws which severely limit the practices that collections agencies can engage in.

What if I Am Owed Money in Point Pleasant, West Virginia?

If you are owed money and the debtor refuses to pay, you have some options at your disposal. However, you must tread lightly when it comes to collecting your debts. Creditors and collectors are governed by specific consumer protection laws. Violating these laws can hurt your chances of recovering what you are owed, and even subject you to civil or criminal penalties.

For example, it should go without mentioning that creditors are not allowed to use threatened or actual violence when attempting to collect. They are also not authorized 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 considerable, you might also want to hire a collection agency in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. You should make sure that any agency you hire is dependable, and has not been cited for violations of the rules governing collections.

What if Someone Is Trying to Collect Money Against Me in Point Pleasant, West Virginia?

Of course, if you owe money and have the capacity to pay it, you should do so. If the collections caller is behaving amicably, 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.

Your best option in Point Pleasant, West Virginia might be to contact the creditor directly, and try to work out some type of new repayment plan. The earlier you do this, the more receptive to your ideas the creditor is likely to be. If this isn't successful, you can demand that the collectors stop contacting you by phone, and they will normally be obliged to do so. Of course, this doesn't make the debt go away, and you should only take this route if you are ready to defend against a lawsuit from your creditors, since demanding that they stop contacting you typically leaves them with no other option but to sue.

If you have hired a Point Pleasant, West Virginia attorney to help you through this process, he or she may advise that you declare bankruptcy. Once this occurs, creditors are legally barred from trying to collect against the debtor. Of course, this is a major decision, and should not be made lightly.

How Can a Point Pleasant, West Virginia Collections Attorney Help?

If you believe that a creditor is violating the law in its effort to collect from you, you should get in touch with a Point Pleasant, West Virginia attorney, since you may actually have a claim for damages against the creditor.

If you are thinking about applying for bankruptcy, a seasoned lawyer in West Virginia can help you with that process, too.