What are your rights if a debt collector tries to make you pay up?

WTAE Call 4 Action reporter Susan Koeppen says there are certain things collectors may not do in Pennsylvania. Consumers have protection from creditors and collectors who use deception, harrassment or misrepresentation to get their money.

If you think you are being harassed, you can file a complaint with the state Attorney General's office. Go to www.attorneygeneral.gov for information on filing a complaint.

Under state regulations, Koeppen says collectors are not allowed to:

• Call more than once every seven days, except when making a reasonable follow-up
• Visit your house more than once in a 30-day period, except when making a reasonable follow-up
• Use profane, obscene or abusive language
• Call your place of employment at all, if they have been notified in writing not to do so or if they know the employer does not allow such calls
• Call your place of employment unless they have been unable to reach you via home telephone calls or home visits during a 30-day period
• Send collection letters to your place of employment or visit your place of employment, unless you give your consent to such activity in writing
• Communicate with you if they have reason to know you are represented by an attorney
• Solicit a post-dated check to threaten or institute criminal prosecution
• Misrepresnt the amount of the debt or any fee related to the debt
• Misrepresent the status of the debt in a legal proceeding
• Misrepresent the identity of a creditor or collector by using a badge, uniform or other device that shows affiliation with a government agency
• Threaten or suggest that not paying the debt will result in arrest or imprisonment
• Suggest that non-payment will result in the garnishment, seizure or sale of your property or wages