Consumer Protection Under the Rosenthal Act

Much like the Unfair and Deceptive Acts of Practices (UDAP) law, the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Act, or simply the Rosenthal Act, is designed to protect consumers from the aggressive and illegal tactics employed by debt collectors when seeking payment on a debt.

California consumers are lucky to have the benefit of numerous consumer protection laws, both state and federal. No type of harassment is acceptable and many of the contacts from creditors or third-party collection agencies are illegal. Take action to stop the harassment with the help of our legal team at Chang & Diamond, APC.

We have years of experience helping clients protect themselves under the laws that have been established to limit the types and extent to which creditors and collection agencies can seek repayment on a debt. Our firm strives to help clients deal with creditors and regain control of their finances by filing for bankruptcy, sending cease and desist letters, reorganizing debts and even litigating the most egregious violations of the Rosenthal Act.

• Not only does this act protect you against unfair practices by a collection agency, the Rosenthal Act protects consumers against the original creditor (such as the credit card company).
• Also, almost anything that violates the federal Fair Debt Collection Act also violates the Rosenthal Act. This means double protection for California consumers.
• The protection of the Rosenthal Act also extends to repossession agencies.
• There may be damages that the creditor must pay for violating the Rosethal Act which can help you pay for your bankruptcy.

• Since original creditors such as banks and credit card issuers normally do not operate as ”debt collectors” under the Fair Debt Collection Act, they usually disregard its restrictions. However, under the Rosenthal Act, any creditor who engages in debt collecting activities in California qualifies as a ”debt collector”. Therefore, the prescribed rules and regulations must be taken into account.
• In order to legally protect the consumers, the Rosenthal Act prevents creditors from placing continuous phone calls and takes into account the pattern of placed calls, in order to determine whether repeated calling constitutes as harrassment.
• Should a creditor violate the Rosenthal Act ”willfully and knowingly”, they are to pay a statutory penalty ranging from $100 to $1000.
• If an unintentional violation has taken place, a creditor has the right and obligation to inform the debtor and try to adjust their activities in order to cure the violation within 15 days of discovering it.

If you are being harassed by creditors and have already filed for bankruptcy, you have options. To discuss how to stop creditor harassment under the Rosenthal Act, contact a lawyer at Chang & Diamond, APC, today and schedule a free initial consultation. Spanish speaking staff members are available for translation assistance.