Phone Contact

• Under both Texas and federal regulations, collection agencies and their associates are not permitted to call up a debtor before eight in the morning or after nine at night. If a person cannot receive phone calls at work, the collection agency cannot call that person at work after being informed that he can't take the phone calls. This notification can be either oral or written.
  
  

Stopping Harassment

• If someone is getting harassing phone calls or letters from a collection agency, she can simply write to the collector and tell the agency that she wants all further communication to stop. She should send the original to the collection agency while retaining possession of a copy. Texas consumers can also take a collection agency to court if they feel the agency is violating their consumer rights, and can also send the matter up to the Texas Office of the Attorney General. The Attorney General's office will check the situation out and decide if civil or even criminal prosecution can take place.
  
  

Security Freeze

• Texas consumers have the right to put a "security freeze" on their credit reports. This prevents a consumer reporting agency from divulging information from the credit report without obtaining express approval from the individual. The exceptions to this are accounts that are currently active, collection agents trying to obtain money from active accounts or credit monitoring in order to keep the report current. The purpose of a security freeze is actually to keep anyone from opening an account in the person's name without that person's knowledge and consent. Security freezes are requested through certified mail.
  
  

Unscrupulous Behavior

• Texas consumer credit rights specifically prohibit debt collectors from engaging in unscrupulous practices, such as threatening the debtor with prison or with garnishment of wages without first having gone before a judge and obtained approval. In addition, collection agencies cannot threaten Texas consumers with lawsuits they have no intention of filing, and cannot claim that failing to pay the debt will result in having property seized.