Florida Fair Debt Collection Law, Statutes Sections 559.55 to 559.785 address debt collectors and attempts to collect debt. Florida follows the federal Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, which includes some specifics such as:
- Debt collectors cannot charge you fees or collect an amount greater than what you owe
- Collectors cannot try to collect on an invalid debt
- Creditors can never threaten or misrepresent him or herself when contacting a debtor
- Collectors may only contact debtors between 8am and 9pm unless you indicate otherwise
- Collectors must send all correspondence in an unmarked envelope--no postcards or stamps outside the envelope indicating it is from a collections agency
- The collector cannot misrepresent documents by making correspondence appear to be legal documents when its not
- If you are being represented by an attorney, the debt collector must communicate with you through your lawyer
- You can dispute the debt in writing within 30 days of receiving the first notice--the collector cannot contact you again until your notification mails
If creditors violate Fair Debt Collections Practices Act rules, Florida debt relief law allows individual consumers to sue. A lawsuit in the debtor’s favor may result in the award of actual damages or $1,000 (whichever is higher), in addition to attorney fees. Additionally, the judge may award punitive damages if applicable.
Florida Statue of Limitations (SOL)
Florida has a four-year statue of limitation (SOL) on open accounts such as credit cards, which means you can only be contacted for up to four years regarding an outstanding credit card debt. For written contracts you have up to five years.
In terms of wage garnishment, federal law applies, but if you are the head of the household, 100% of your wages are exempt in the state of Florida. Other areas exempt from garnishment include:
- Social security
- State worker pensions and retirement benefits
- Public benefits/assistance such as worker’s compensation, unemployment and crime victim compensation
- Insurance and annuities including disability benefits, annuity contract proceeds and death benefits
Florida Credit Card Debt Relief Act of 2010
The Credit Card Debt Relief Act of 2010 has streamlined the methods for repaying debt and regulated how collectors work with debtors. The Act has impacted debt relief collections several ways:
- The number of fraudulent or weak performing credit card companies are gone
- Reduces the chances of falling victim to fraudulent debt settlement companies due to new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reforms
- Increased, open communication from creditors--more information is provided to help you eliminate your loans
- Debt settlement companies cannot request upfront fees from clients