As you may know, there are both federal and state laws that offer a variety of protections to individuals who are in debt and who are being dunned by debt collectors.  The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act offers a variety of protections in cases involving collection agencies (as opposed to the actual creditor).  In other words, a credit card company can do and say certain things and remain legal, but if a collection agency does or says the exact same things, those actions would be a violation of the FDCPA and make the collection agency subject to a claim for damages.

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