Debt Collection Laws in Alaska

Edited by Hannah Locklear

As a resident of Alaska, you need to understand your rights if a debt collector is chasing you for money. Collection agencies aren’t known for being the most reputable businesses, and if an old account of yours ends up in a collection agency’s hands, you’ll probably start receiving lots of phone calls and letters.

Fortunately, both the federal and state government offer protections from debt collectors for Alaska residents. This guide will discuss Alaska debt collection laws and how to handle violations.

Sued by a debt collection agency? Settle your debt once and for all.

Debt collectors can’t harass or abuse you under federal and state laws

The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Alaska Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act prohibit debt collectors from using unfair and deceptive practices to pursue consumer debts. A few practices that are against the law include:

• Telling you they’ve initiated a legal process against you if they haven’t.
• Claiming they’ll seize part of your paycheck or take your belongings if you don’t repay a debt (if they don’t have the legal right to do so).
• Saying they’re an attorney or another representative of the law when they’re not.
• Implying that you’ll go to jail or face criminal charges if you don’t repay a debt.
• Telling you that their communications are legal documents when they’re not.

Additionally, the FDCPA prevents debt collectors from harassing or abusing you. Examples of harassment and abuse include the following:

• Threatening to destroy your personal or professional reputation if you don’t repay a debt.
• Calling you and refusing to identify who they are.
• Using profane language when attempting to collect a debt.
• Publishing that you owe a debt in a public forum, like social media or your local newspaper.
• Letting your phone ring “off the hook” when you refuse to answer.
• Calling you at odd hours, such as after 9 p.m. or before 8 a.m.

If you feel that a debt collector’s activities are abusive or deceptive, they likely are. You should file a complaint with the FTC and the Alaska State Attorney General’s office.

If the FTC finds that a debt collector violated your rights, it may fine them up to $1,000 per violation and potentially take further legal action. Under AS § 45.50.551, the Alaska attorney general can penalize the collection agency between $1K and $25K for each violation of a consumer’s rights.

Alaska wage garnishment laws also protect you

In addition to Alaska’ debt collection laws, wage garnishment laws exist to prevent your income from being taken away unfairly in order to pay off debt.

Under Alaskan law, creditors can garnish your wages according to federal guidelines in 15 U.S.C. § 1673. The maximum amount of the garnishment is the lesser of these two numbers:

• 25% of your disposable weekly earnings.
• The amount of disposable weekly wages exceeding 30 times the federal minimum wage.

To learn more about Alaska’s wage garnishment laws and how to stop or prevent wage garnishment from happening there, check out our guide on how to Stop Wage Garnishment in Alaska.

What to do if a collection agency is chasing you for debt

If you’re receiving letters from a debt collection agency, the worst thing you can do is ignore them. Instead, keep an objective mindset and read the letter. Your initial communication from a debt collector should include some basic information, like the original creditor’s name, your account number, and the outstanding amount due.

Your next step is to make the collector validate the debt. A Debt Validation Letter requests that the debt collection agency prove you owe the debt and that it has the right to collect it from you. You can request other things in your Debt Validation Letter, like a comparison of the debt’s age against the Alaska statute of limitations.

Watch our video to learn the importance of Debt Validation Letters — and how to write one:

If the collection agency doesn’t respond to your letter, it doesn’t have the requisite proof that you owe the debt. Unless it provides the requested evidence, it must cease all collection efforts against you.

If you don’t hear back from the collection agency, check your credit report to ensure there’s no adverse information from the debt collector. If there is, you can dispute it and provide a copy of your debt validation letter as evidence.

How to handle an Alaska debt lawsuit

At some point, a collection agency that knows it has a valid legal claim against you may decide to take its case to court. You’ll receive a court summons with a Complaint attached if it does.

A Complaint lists the creditor’s claims against you, such as unpaid debt. It will include the amount you owe and any pertinent information concerning your account.

Receiving a court Summons is scary, especially when you’ve never been the subject of a debt lawsuit. You’ll want to carefully review the documents you receive to know the date of your hearing and the amount the collection agency says you owe.

It’s important to file a response to the collection agency’s Complaint — this response is known as an Answer. List any defenses you have against the collection agency’s claims. Your Answer will show the collection agency it can’t push you around, and you don’t intend to let it win a default judgment without the court hearing from you first.

SoloSuit’s Answer form makes it easy to respond to your debt lawsuit.

If you’re unlikely to win the lawsuit (even with your gallant efforts to protect yourself), it’s best to resolve the matter before your hearing. You can either repay or try to settle the debt.

Repaying the debt stops any further legal activity against you. The debt collector must drop its claim. A settlement may work if you don’t have the money to fully repay the debt. In a settlement, you pay a portion of the obligation in exchange for the agency dropping the lawsuit against you.

Let’s consider an example.

Alaska debt collection laws protect consumers from abuse and harassment

Once a collection agency purchases a debt you owe, it will likely start trying to contact you. Pay attention to its methods and don’t accept any abuse or harassment. Instead, report it to the FTC and the Alaska State Attorney General’s office. If your collection item turns into a debt lawsuit, resolve the matter before it becomes a judgment.

Is a debt collector suing you in Alaska? Use SoloSettle to settle your debt today.

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to fight debt collectors.

You can use SoloSuit to respond to a debt lawsuit, to send letters to collectors, and even to settle a debt.

SoloSuit's Answer service is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your Answer. Upon completion, we'll have an attorney review your document and we'll file it for you.

>>Read the FastCompany article: Debt Lawsuits Are Complicated: This Website Makes Them Simpler To Navigate

>>Read the NPR story on SoloSuit. (We can help you in all 50 states.)

How to answer a summons for debt collection in your state

Here's a list of guides for other states.

All 50 states.

• Alabama
• Alaska
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• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
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• South Carolina
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• Texas
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• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
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Guides on how to beat every debt collector

Being sued by a different debt collector? Were making guides on how to beat each one.

• Absolute Resolutions Investments LLC
• Accredited Collection Services
• Alliance One
• Amcol Clmbia
• American Recovery Service
• Asset Acceptance LLC
• Asset Recovery Solutions
• Associated Credit Services
• Autovest LLC
• Cach LLC
• Cavalry SPV I LLC
• Cerastes LLC
• Colinfobur
• Covington Credit
• Crown Asset Management
• CTC Debt Collector
• Cypress Financial Recoveries
• Delanor Kemper & Associates
• Eagle Loan of Ohio
• Educap
• Estate Information Services
• FIA Card Services
• Forster & Garbus
• Freshview Solutions
• Fulton Friedman & Gullace LLP
• Harvest Credit Management
• Howard Lee Schiff
• Hudson & Keyse LLC
• Integras Capital Recovery LLC
• Javitch Block
• Jefferson Capital Systems LLC
• LVNV Funding
• Mannbracken
• Mariner Finance
• Medicredit
• Michael J Adams PC
• Michael J Scott
• Midland Funding LLC
• Mullooly, Jeffrey, Rooney & Flynn
• Mountain Land Collections
• MRS Associates
• National Collegiate Trust
• Nationstar Foreclosure
• Northstar Capital Acquisition
• NCEP LLC
• NRC Collection Agency
• OneMain Financial
• Palisades Collection LLC
• Pallida LLC
• Paragon Revenue Group
• Pinnacle Collections Agency
• PMAB LLC
• Portfolio Recovery Associates
• Provest Law
• PYOD LLC
• Reunion Student Loan Finance Corporation
• Revenue Group
• Regents and Associates
• RSIEH
• Salander Enterprises LLC
• Second Round Sub LLC
• Security Credit Services
• Sherman Financial Group
• Suttell and Hammer
• T-Mobile
• Transworld Systems
• Tulsa Teachers Credit Union
• UCB Collection
• Velo Law Office
• Velocity Investments
• Waypoint Resource Group
• Weinberg and Associates
• Wolpoff & Abramson

Win against credit card companies

Is your credit card company suing you? Learn how you can beat each one.

• Bank of America
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• Chase
• Credit One Bank
• PayPal Synchrony Card
• SYNCB/PPEXTR
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• Target National Bank
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