Experts suggest to prevent the build-up of debt, one should ensure all bills are paid on time, including credit card bills. This is way easier said than done, and if you’re one of the scores of single women or mothers, juggling electricity and heating bills while ensuring there is food on the table and paying school fees, you probably have felt the threat of unpaid debt snapping close at your heels and experienced embarrassment or harassment.
Per online reports, single mothers make up the majority when it comes to single-parent families within the United States. Consider the following figures as per the US Census Bureau from online reports:
- Single mothers head up more than 80% of nearly 12 million single parent families
- One in every four children below 18 years of age are being raised without a father
- About half (45%) of these are living below the poverty line (children below 18, and who are being raised without a father)
Now contrast this information with these figures:
- Of the children who live with their father, only about 21% live in poverty; this contrasts sharply with the 45% being raised by their mothers and who live in poverty
- In families with both parents, only 13% are counted as poor or living in poverty
It is no wonder that more single women, especially mothers, are facing challenges of the financial kind, including debt burden and unpaid loans and as a result, harassment.
Single mothers and the financial burden
Single mothers may be more vulnerable to debt and related harassment because they carry the burden of raising children single-handedly.
Given the consumerist times we live in, it is doubly difficult to deal with a child’s insistent “Mom, my friend has this, why can’t I have it too?” or the full-blown tantrum in a mall on a crowded holiday. Soon you realize the credit card has notched up a large amount that you struggle to keep up with, in terms of repayment.
Single mothers not only juggle with challenges of earning the money, they are also the single-handed baby-sitter, cook and housekeeper, as well as friend and confidante for their child. The responsibility only increases in the case of multiple children.
What starts innocently as a few missed payments on the credit card quickly snowballs into a full-blown debt that proves hard to repay as well.
What can be done about debt harassment ?
Despite being extremely difficult for a single mother, debt harassment is a matter of concern for all, not just single women or mothers struggling to get by. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Telephone Consumers Protection Act (TCPA) are legal instruments to protect consumers in situations like these.
While the FDCPA protects consumers from bad debt collection practices, specifically from third-party collectors, the TCPA governs the use of automated dialing equipment for the purpose of communication, including marketing and debt-related.
Both these Acts together outline practices that debt collectors need to follow, including:
- Maintaining privacy of the identity of the person in debt
- Not calling up at unreasonable hours, such as late in the night or early morning
- Identifying themselves and the entity they are representing for debt collection
- In the case of using telephone equipment, not calling up consumers without their express consent
- Ensuring they do not use abusive language in the process of debt collection
These and more clauses are in place in the form of guidelines to ensure the consumer does not face harassment.
Why you need a professional: Immensity of responsibilities
Several factors come into play when one looks at a single mother facing harassment from debt collectors.
For a single mother, the problems of financial pressure are doubled due to lack of help. Financial responsibilities shared by two are borne by a single person. In the case of separation by divorce, alimony or child support payments may exist. However, it is common for these to be delayed or needing to be pursued only after paying big fees to attorneys in the first place. This financial strain can then transfer to other areas too, leaving an individual stressed out and ready to snap at the slightest provocation, with serious consequences, at times.
There are strong social and cultural associations of being a single mother as well. Apart from money, single mothers are always short on time because they are the ones bringing the income. By itself, this can be a major stress point for an individual. Often, a single mother may feel the need to compensate for the lack of the other parent. Unfortunately, this mostly means indulging the children through materialistic things like presents, sweets, clothes, etc. While these purchases may buy the mother a moment’s peace, in the long run they will create entitled children who may not respect their mother’s efforts to provide for them.
Harassment faced by single mothers or women also preys heavily on fatigue and constant sleep deprivation. Dealing with responsibilities of two adults can eventually wear down the strongest of individuals. Further, when dealing with children, this can spill over in the form of anger that leads to them getting affected, either directly or indirectly.
As a result, their vulnerability only increases. Hence, even if there are laws are in place to safeguard consumer interest, they still need a professional for successful interpretation. For a single mother, a professional is an essential if she needs help for ridding herself of debt-related harassment. If not handled well, it is equally easy to lose a case, even with favorable evidence.
For example, the FDCPA applies to third-party debt collectors. If a single mother you know is suffering debt harassment, are you or she sure it is from a third-party collector and not the creditor?
What constitutes harassment and how to sue the entity involved are also actions that will need professional understanding. Are you eligible for debt harassment relief or does your debt need clearing through payment? How should you go about proving the debt is not yours if you are being harassed wrongly? These are some of the questions that crop up when talking about debt related harassment.
For a single mother, fighting debt related harassment can be a daunting prospect. However, with the right help, one can put an effective stop to the harassment.
About Us
Legal Rights Advocates, PLLC is a law firm that specializes in helping clients, including single women and mothers, stop the harassment from creditors or debt collectors and sue them, if needed. Our team of attorneys, over the years, has helped countless clients get protections from debt collection practices that are deemed as unlawful and illegal under the TCPA and the FDCPA.
If you are interested in learning more about how to stop harassment faced from debt collectors or how to sue them for harassment, call us at (855) 254-7841 for immediate assistance.
(855) 254-7841
(855) 254-7841
