Last February, the Illinois Court of Appeals, Second Division, upheld a ruling that a debt collection law firm that filed a collection suit on the behalf of a debt buyer that was not licensed in Illinois did not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) Section 1692g(a)(3), a debt collector is required to send a debt notice to consumers from whom it is attempting to collect. With regards to disputing a debt, the notice must state that “unless the consumer, within 30 days after receipt of the notice disputes the validity of the debt, or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector.

Many consumers have reported receiving telephone calls from “debt collectors” attempting to collect on loans that were never received by the consumer or on loans that were received but the amount was not owed. In other cases, consumers have been receiving calls from people who are seeking to recover on loans that the consumer did receive but the creditor never authorized the calls. Consumers who are receiving such calls, be aware, these “debt collectors” may actually be scam artists.

A close relative of yours has recently died. You and your family are grieving and now debt collectors are calling asking you family to pay the debts of your deceased loved one. However, as a rule, the debts of the decedent are not the responsibility of the family but of the decedent’s estate.