The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) protects debtors from harassment by debt collectors. If a colletor has violated the FDCPA, you can sue the collector in court. The FDCPA provides a range of damages for successful FDCPA lawsuits,k including monetary damages, attorneys fees, and more. Read on to learn what types of damages you can get in a FDCPA lawsuit.
(To learn more about the FDCPA,visit our Illegal Debt Collection area.)
Damages and Remedies Available in FDCPA Lawsuits
The FDCPA is violated when debt collectors take certain actions. (To learn what constitutes a violation of the FDCPA and what collectors are covered by the Act, see Nolo's article Illegal Debt Collection Practices.)
If a debt collector violates the FDCPA and you sue the collector in court, you may be able to recover the following types of damages:
Monetary Remedies
These types of money damages may be available:
Damages for Physical Distress
Some debtors suffer actual physical damage from the barrage of debt collection calls and letters, including stress-related heart problems, migraine headaches, skin rashes, and so forth. Any health concerns should be first addressed with a qualified doctor, and then the debtor should contact a FDCPA attorney to document all such health concerns. If the health problems can be linked to the FDCPA violations, the debtor may be able to recover the costs of treatment and other damages against the debt collector.
Damages for Emotional Distress
Relentless telephone calls and collection letters cause real stress and can affect the debtor?s emotional well-being. The debtor?s marriage and other relationships may suffer. Also, the calls to debtor?s coworkers and family members can be an incredible invasion of privacy. All of these occurrences should be documented and discussed with an FDCPA attorney. The offending debt collector may be held liable for this distress and the debtor may be able to recover against the debt collector.
Lost Wages Recovered
Debtors may face problems at work because debt collectors call and disrupt the debtor?s productivity, as well as the productivity of debtor?s co-workers. When debtor collectors violate the FDCPA through calls to the debtor?s employer, the debtor may be able to recover lost wages.
Wage Garnishment Recovery
If a paycheck has been garnished by a debt collector that has violated the FDCPA, it may be possible for the debtor to recover these funds. (Learn more about wage garnishment.)
Statutory Damages of $1,000
Above and beyond what the consumer may collect for losses related to lost wages, psychological distress, and the like, the FDCPA allows the consumer to recover damages up to $1,000 from the creditor. Since the FDCPA says that the consumer can recover ?up to $1,000,? the amount awarded could be less. The court can award these damages if the consumer proves the collector violated the FDCPA, but the consumer does not have to prove that the violation caused any harm. This $1,000 is per lawsuit, not per violation, so if the creditor violates the FDCPA once or multiple times, the consumer still only collects up to $1,000.
Attorney Costs and Fees Recovered
In cases where the debtor successfully proves that a FDCPA violation occurred, the court may allow recovery of attorneys fees and costs. This recovery is especially important because without this reimbursement, debtors may not be able to afford to bring FDCPA actions against unscrupulous debt collectors.
Injunctive Remedies
In addition to awarding the debtor monetary damages, a court can also order the debt collector to cease certain activities -- this is called injunctive relief. For example, the court can require that:
The Debt Collector Stops Calling
The FDCPA can be used to stop calls to the debtor?s home, work, family, friends, neighbors, and other associates. When debtors receive dozens of calls each day from relentless debt collectors, the end of those calls may be the greatest relief of all.
The Debt Collector Stops Sending Letters
Letters from debt collectors can be nearly as aggravating as telephone calls. Enforcement of the FDCPA against overly aggressive debt collectors can stop the daily flood of collection letters.
Third Parties May Also Sue
Family members of the debtor, the receptionist at debtor?s work, debtor?s neighbors, and other persons who have been burdened by the debt collector?s phone calls and letters may also sue the debt collector under the FDCPA. As with any FDCPA claim, these persons will need to prove that the FDCPA was violated and that they suffered damages from that violation.
If the actions of the debt collector violate the FDCPA, and the debtor has suffered damages as a result of these actions, suing the debt collector under the FDCPA may give the debtor some real relief. Not only could it stop the harassing phone calls, a FDCPA claim may also allow the debtor to recover for physical, emotional, and monetary damages suffered.
(To learn more about dealing with debt collectors, see our Debt Collection & Collectors area.)
by: Linda Thompson, Contributing Author

If you get a call from anyone claiming to be a processors  what these people do is buy old collections records and try and collect on them they make accusations about a court or legal matters being filed against you, they may even tell you they are getting a restraining order on your bank account........... Pending legal action has to be filed in court and papers sent to you, before this happens they may even threaten to serve you that day ect claiming they been trying to serve you  lol  the sheriff department usually does the serving of any court papers or they are sent certified mail.......these people are simply trying to collect on old collection record that have been written off............. report them to your attorney general office...... and let them know you are doing so get addresses and names of anyone you speak too   block the number........and word of advice if you have debt and you can't pay it..contact an attorney and file bankruptcy and start over.......... or have a credit repair service help you clean up........we are all human, some have more then others  it unfortunate people have to survive and some of that comes from leaning on credit cards and the government for food  times are hard right now.....  good luck!

To all: If they are telling you that you have to pay 1400 in court cost .. that is a violation of FDCPA.. they are threatening to sue you when they have no intent. Besides that they sound like the typical Payday loan scam.. get their physical address(I bet they refuse or give you a PO Box or an address that is at a UPS Store or Mailbox Etc.)

I received a call on Thursday April 25th, 2013 and told to call 909-256-5532. I called back and spoke to a guy by the name of Robert Butler. He said he was with RS Group and that I had a credit card debt from 2007 and that I needed to settle it immediately or pay 1400 dollars in court costs. He stated that the credit amount was for 785 dollars and that if I had a visa or mastercard, I could settle it immediately.  I told him I would call him back.  I looked up the number online and found these comments, so I know I'm not alone.  Let's put our heads together folks and find a way to end this fraud!!!!!

Received a call from 888-737-7756 when i called back I was a 909-256-5532 today. He would not give any information except a certified package was sent to my child. They also have the nerve to call other family members trying to get information.

I got call number said that take me to court and Told I did theft

i didnt receive a call from this number i received a call this morning fro a 1-888 number so i call back and talk to a gentleman about a credit card i apparently had back in 2007. I talked t him for a few minutes and when he asked how i wanted to settle my debt i told himi wasnt able to settle it today. he gives me a few different options to see if i cant settle it a different way. i told him i might be able to settle it witht he least amount able to send in. he gave me his name and this 909 number. so i get off the phone without making any arrangments to pay and google his number 909-256-5532 and i see all these comments. im not sure how to deal with this all now. is it seriously a scam to get me to pay something after so long? i mean this guy had my credit report pulled and everything. even told me certified letters were coming to me. how should i handle this...i need some advice if anyone has any for me.

This company is calling other people and I am not sure how they received the mother persons number harrasing them. I do not know who these people are and want them to stop calling.

Call constantly with different numbers, and harassing.

So I get a call named Larry Dunn of the RS GROUP.  They are a scam, If you have ever had an old credit card that you never paid off in most states the statue of limitations is up after 3 years. So these credit card businesses sell your account to these bottom feeders. They call saying they ate verifying your employment or verify your address to serve you with court papers. This has been going on for threw years and I have never been served. Thank God for phone Alps that allow you to block their calls. They use so many #'s that my history is full of numbers. Now any # that calls me restricted or numbers that I don't recognize I goggle them to see if its rs group. Little advice do tell them anything. Nor confirm anything and certainly don't pay them anything. If you were really gonna be served they don't call ya to find out where your at. If they are callithey are calling you its because you accredited is out of the statue of limitations.

Every call that I receive is always a different person.The business name version is always different. They never leave a message or state what the call or issue is about. In looking at my call history, the calls a total of 7 calls are around 9am. No messages are left. Durning the evening total calls are usually between 4-5 and hours range between 4 to 8 pm.