Collection agents will often do things that bring them quite close to breaking the law in order to do their job. Some aggressive individuals engage in practices that are borderline harassment in order to convince those behind on their bills that they must find a way to pay.
Dealing with a time of financial uncertainty isn’t easy for anyone. Whether you lost your job or had unexpected medical bills, financial hardship can take an incredible toll on an individual’s physical and mental health. When you have to deal with aggressive collection agents as well, the stress that you experience will undoubtedly increase.
In fact, collection agents will likely call you as often as they legally can in order to make you feel highly pressured. As if having them call you at home wasn’t stressful enough, they may also try to call you at work. Thankfully, you have rights when it comes to collection calls at your place of employment.
If you can’t take personal calls at work, they can’t call you
Many companies have explicit policies in place regarding an employee’s right to use the phone. Most companies will address whether employees can use cellphones while on the clock. Other companies may have policies that specifically prohibit staff from using company phone lines for personal business.
If either of those rules applies to you, you should be able to tell a collection agency to stop calling your work. After all, if they call you and the result is disciplinary action, you could potentially lose your job and your ability to repay them because of their aggressive collection efforts.
If your employer does not have a policy against calls at work, you can still request that the collection agent stop calling you at work. Unless the line rings directly to a phone you answer, you could also request that people take messages instead of transferring calls to you to avoid dealing with collection agencies.
You may have to stand up for your rights to put a collection company in its place
Collection companies that engage in abusive tactics do so in the hope of squeezing more money out of people already struggling. When an agent’s aggressive tactics endanger your employment, you have every right to push back.
If a collection agent refuses to stop calling your place of work after you ask them to, you should begin documenting every communication you have, including the date, time, name of the agent and number they called. Once you have done that, you may want to talk with an attorney. Your lawyer can advise you of your rights or even take action to step the harassment you’re experiencing at work.