Search Collection Agencies in Illinois| Debt Collection Laws

Illinois Debt Collection Laws Summary

• Under ICAA (Illinois Collection Agency Act), a debtor can request that a Collection Agency must validate (check the accuracy) of a debt.
• Debt collectors must follow both sets of laws, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Illinois Collection Agency Act. Although some companies and professionals are exempt under the ICAA like banks, credit unions, attorneys, real estate brokers etc.
• Debt collectors cannot profane, threatening or abusive language. They cannot pretend to be someone else and cannot threaten the debtor with arrest or call excessively/repeatedly.
• A statute of limitations is the deadline for filing a lawsuit. In Illinois, there is generally a ten-year limit for filing a lawsuit to collect a debt based on a written agreement. for Oral or open contracts it is five years.
• The FDCPA does not cover debts incurred in running a business.
• Debt collectors may report the debt to credit reporting companies.
• Collection agencies should avoid contacting debtors’ family and friends repeatedly as it can cause FDCPA problems.

Illinois Debt Statistics

• In Illinois, consumers owed $58  billion in student loan debt. Average Student Loan in Illinois in 2019: $28.5K.
• The average mortgage debt in Illinois is $179K.
• The average credit card debt in Illinois is about $6400
• Illinois consumers have an average credit score of 683

Illinois Geographical Stats

• Population of Illinois : 12.9 million (year 2018)
• Number of millionaires: 300K  ( year 2018)