[rivabej]

I've been dealing with a collection agency that was calling me constantly, sometimes multiple times a day. They even called my work after I told them not to. It felt like they could do whatever they wanted and I was just supposed to take it.
A few weeks ago, I finally got tired of it and started looking into my rights. The whole process was confusing at first, but I didn't realize how many rules they were breaking. For example, they never sent me a written notice with the debt amount, which I guess they're supposed to do within five days of first contacting you. And they were threatening things like wage garnishment and a lawsuit, which from what I read, they can't just do without going through the proper legal steps first.
It all felt like harassment and honestly, it was really stressful. I'm not trying to dodge paying what I owe, but I also think everyone deserves to be treated fairly. I found an article online that finally made everything click and explained both the federal law and the specific Michigan rules that collectors have to follow.
Here's the link that helped me understand it all: https://protectionforconsumers.com/michigan-fair-debt-collection-practices-act-explained/
The main takeaways for me were that:

• Calling you at inconvenient hours or repeatedly just to annoy you is considered harassment.
  
  
• They can't threaten you with arrest or a lawsuit if they don't actually intend to do it.
  
  
• They have to give you the chance to dispute the debt and ask for validation.
  
  
• You can tell them to stop contacting you at work.
  

I used the information to send them a letter asking them to stop calling me and to verify the debt. The calls have pretty much stopped for now. Just wanted to share this in case anyone else is dealing with the same thing and feels like they have no options. Hope it helps someone else out there.