West Virginia debt collection laws: 1 year to file

the short answer

West Virginia's Consumer Credit and Protection Act is the most expensive state statute in the country to violate, and it reaches creditors as well as collectors. The prohibited practices include unreasonable publication of your indebtedness and repeated calls made to annoy or harass — the same conduct the federal Act names, priced very differently.

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

governing statute15 U.S.C. § 1692d source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

plain englishA debt collector may not harass, oppress or abuse you to collect a debt — no threats, no obscenity, no publishing your name as someone who will not pay, and no repeated calls meant to annoy. It may not lie about the amount, about who it is, or about what will happen to you. It may not call before 8 in the morning or after 9 at night your time, or at work once you have said your employer forbids it, and once you tell it in writing to stop contacting you it must stop.source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

deadline5 dayssource ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

penaltyYour actual damages, plus additional damages the court may allow up to $1,000, plus the costs of the action and a reasonable attorney's fee (15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a)). The fee shifts on any successful action, which is what makes a small case worth a lawyer's time.source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

limit1 yearsource ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

free routeThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau takes a complaint about a debt collector online, in any state, for nothing. It forwards the complaint to the company and expects a response, and it publishes the complaint and the response in a public database. That is a national route that runs alongside — not instead of — the state office named below.source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

alsoThe Act reaches debt collectors — third-party agencies, and buyers of debt that was already in default. A creditor collecting its own debt in its own name is usually outside it, and that is the gap the state law below is often there to close. Two more things worth knowing: within five days of first contacting you the collector must put the amount, the creditor's name and your right to dispute in writing, and if you dispute in writing within thirty days it must stop collecting until it sends you verification. Under Regulation F a collector is presumed to be harassing you if it calls more than seven times in seven days about the same debt, or at all within seven days of speaking to you (12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b)(2)(i)).source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

Which debt collection law applies in West Virginia?

governing statute

W. Va. Code § 46A-2-125

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

What can you recover from a debt collector in West Virginia?

penalty

Actual damages, and a penalty of $1,000 per violation. The aggregate penalty is capped at the greater of $175,000 or the total alleged outstanding indebtedness, and in a class action that cap applies severally to each named plaintiff and each class member (W. Va. Code § 46A-5-101(1)).

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

Where do you report a debt collector in West Virginia?

free route

The Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division takes the complaint by post, by email or on an online form, and it is free. One instruction is specific to this claim: if your complaint is against a debt collector, give the name, address and telephone number of the original creditor as well.

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

Which court hears a case like this in West Virginia?

which court

Magistrate court

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

How much can you sue for in West Virginia small claims court?

small claims limit

$20,000

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

your situation

That is the rule. Whether it is your answer is a different question.

Everything above is the law as it reaches everyone in West Virginia. What it means for you turns on facts only you have. Tell us what happened and we'll ask the same questions a lawyer would — about 90 seconds, free, and anonymous.

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Can I sue for a debt collector harassing me in West Virginia?

Which debt collection law applies in West Virginia?

What can you recover from a debt collector in West Virginia?

Where do you report a debt collector in West Virginia?

Which court hears a case like this in West Virginia?

How much can you sue for in West Virginia small claims court?

That is the rule. Whether it is your answer is a different question.