This act protects consumers from being mistreated by debt collectors. That being said, this does not mean that you do not need to pay back your debts; it does mean however, that debt collectors may not endanger or hassle you while trying to collect those debts.

Debt collectors may not use raunchy language or threaten to harm you. They may not release debtor's names in an effort to humiliate the debtor into paying back their debt.

They may not act like they are collecting the money for the state or the federal government if they're not doing it.

They may not make collect calls, send telegrams which must be paid for by the person receiving them, or take some other similar type of action which will stimulate the debtor to spend money to receive a communication from him.

Collection agencies may not give a call to a debtor's employer and mention to the employer that they are attempting to collect a debt. Only when the employer asks may they disclose the identity of the agency that they work for; they may not call up and announce "Hi, I am Tom Smith from ACME Debt Collection Agency, and I need to speak to your employee Jim Brown."

Therefore if debt collectors are getting hold of you and you feel hassled, be sure that you take a look at the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and stand up for your rights. It is time that people start getting right up in the faces of these collectors who continue to misbehave and break federal law on a daily basis.