Know Your Rights

Debt collectors are not required to register to collect debts in the state. Kentucky’s consumer protection laws don’t apply to junk debt collectors. Kentucky has no other laws that designed to control debt-collector abuse. The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) is the only substantive law that applies to junk debt collectors.

• Unfortunately, Kentucky is the wild west for debt collectors.
• Fortunately, the FDCPA is a powerful law enacted by Congress expressly to compensate for inadequate state laws.

The FDCPA gives you the power to stop harassing phone calls and dunning letters. You can sue debt collectors for violating the FDCPA. If you win or settle with the debt collector, the debt collector has to pay your attorney’s fees and costs, your actual damages, and statutory damages of up to $1,000.00.

A Debt Collector Cannot…

• Telephone you an unreasonable number of times.
• Telephone you at an unusual time/unusual place.
• Disclose information of your debts to third parties, including your spouse and other relatives.
• Use profane or other abusive language.
• Claim to be affiliated with any governmental organization.
• Accuse you having committed a crime.
• Threaten or communicate false credit information.
• Call you before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m.
• Call you, but not announce who he/she is.