Legal implications of not paying postpaid bills on time

Paying utility bills is always a tedious process. In fact, paying mobile bills is one of the most forgetful to-do things for people. Postpaid bills are often delayed due to several reasons; one of them being that the amount is too low to cause any financial burden. Don’t worry! You can choose a postpaid plan and easily pay the bill on time by making a few smart decisions. However, what people tend to forget is that unpaid postpaid bills can cause serious implications, such as hefty penalties, lawsuits, police FIRs, etc.

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To say the least, the process of paying postpaid bills is tedious, but the headache of unpaid bills is even more bothersome. To spread awareness on this, we’ve explained in detail the impact of unpaid postpaid bills:

Lawsuits

Before filing a lawsuit, many telecom companies usually disconnect your connection. Despite this, if the bill is still due, their agents will make back-to-back phone calls to remind you of the payment. If both these ways fail to recoup the outstanding bill amount, the companies then turn to debt collectors. And boy, when they take over, they will either send a legal notice or ask you to appear at the hearing to settle the dues; failing to do so, can result in default judgements.

Thus, it is important to show up at the hearing. During the hearing, they will enquire about your job and daily wages. Why? Well, it helps them in deciding whether they should garnish the wages or put a lien on the property. However, if you fail to appear to answer these questions, the debt collectors can ask the court to issue a civil warrant.

NOTE: Courts don’t usually issue a civil warrant immediately. If the defenders are absent for the first time, the court gives them a second chance to appear at the hearing. But, if the second hearing is skipped yet again, the court, then, has the complete right to send a civil warrant.

Civil warrants

After the court sends an arrest warrant, the cops will take you into their custody immediately. Then, after your arrest, you need to place a certain amount (specified by the court) as a guarantee to appear at the next hearing.

If you do not agree to pay the amount voluntarily, the collectors will start the process of hearing and issuing another warrant all over again. So, the only way out of all this is to be present at the court, the next time whenever they ask you to do so. Avoid falling into the same cycle once again!

Dealing with debt collectors is a tricky business. So, if you have been contacted by them for an old phone bill payment, follow these steps mentioned below:

Verify the facts

A legitimate debt collector usually sends a debt validation letter within the first five business days of contacting you. Once you receive it, go through every detail mentioned in the letter, especially the debt amount.

Understand your rights

You no longer have to feel helpless about the whole scenario. Thanks to the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act! It is a federal law that limits the actions of third-party debt collectors. So, see to it that you understand these rights covered under the act in order to control your communication with them.

Make a strategic plan!

Don’t get overwhelmed! Relax. There are three ways out of this!

• Confirm if the debt is past the statute of limitations or not. If it is past two years or more, you cannot be sued for the unpaid bill payment. But, if the bill falls under the statute of limitations, you need to fix it!
• Verify if the debt is under your name or not. If the debt isn’t yours, find ways to get rid of the misinformed debt collector.

To sum up, unpaid bill payments have negative consequences. Therefore, it is advisable to clear off the past debts before it’s too late. See to it that you make timely payments by setting up bill reminders, signing up for automatic payments, and more importantly, see to it that you choose a postpaid plan with minimum charges!