Collection Notices

• According to the California Attorney General's Office, letters that Californians receive demanding a bill payment must include the creditor's name and the amount due on the first notice. It's important to examine that information to ensure the debt belongs to you if you receive a notice. Check the amount owed if the debt does belong to you to ensure you're not being overcharged. It's not uncommon for collectors to receive incorrect information on debtors, especially if they're attempting to collect old debts.
  
  

Collection Calls

• Collectors are allowed to call Californians between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m., but people can ask to be contacted at different times if those hours are inconvenient. The Attorney General's Office also notes on its website that California law prohibits collectors from using obscene language when they contact debtors. Californians can file a complaint with the Attorney General's Public Inquiry Unit if they believe a collector has behaved in an obscene or abusive manner.
  
  

Employer Contacts

• California's Fair Debt Collection Practices Act places restrictions on collection companies that contact debtors' employers. Companies that seek to verify debtors' employment or garnish their wages must first send a notice in writing and wait 15 days for a response. Collectors may call employers or make other attempts to contact them if they don't receive a reply to their initial written notice. You can ask collectors not to contact you at work. However, you may be sued if you cut off all contact with collectors at home and work because they have no other means for recouping what you owe.
  
  

Considerations

• You may be tempted to ignore a collection notice if you know the debt a company is trying to collect isn't yours or has already been paid. However, you should reply within 30 days of receiving the notice to inform the company that the information is incorrect. The company must stop making attempts to collect the debt from you after you dispute the information. A collector can't resume contacting you without sending you a written notice verifying that the debt belongs to you and that the amount owed is correct.