And you thought your debt collection agency was bad! A website recently made a list of bad debt collection experiences and these were among the worst of the collection. Karen Garrett, the public relations coordinator for Pittsburgh-based nonprofit Advantage Credit Counseling Service felt that she had heard it all until her agency received a call from a senior citizen late last year. She had called in tears and told Garrett that bill collectors had called her and told her that they had the police outside. If she did not pay, they were going to drag her to jail.

Debts are a civil matter, not a criminal one, and jail time is not even a retribution for failing to pay delinquent bills. “It is very important for people to know that there is no such thing as debtor’s prison” Garrett says, smiling and rolling her eyes.

If debt collectors are making illegal threats like deportation, physical violence and jail time, you always can report the harassment to the Federal Trade Commission or to your state attorney general’s office. The Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act restricts bad behavior by third party collection agencies. These people don’t follow the same rules as those who are directly collecting for the creditors. They are not permitted to call you at your place of employment if you ask them not to, publish or threaten to publish your debt, reveal to anyone else that you may have a debt, harass you on the phone or use profanity. The laundry list continues.

They can’t use loss of child custody, deportation, illegal punishment like jail, or physical harm. They cannot call your home before eight AM or after 9 PM or even call at all if you have already written a request asking them to cease contact, or if you’ve hired a lawyer.

One older woman from New Jersey owed $12,000 in credit card debt after putting day to day living expenses on her card. The debt collector called and told her that they were going to take her home. She was also told that they weren’t willing to take a penny less than the $12,000 she owed, and furthermore, they wanted it now. She attempted to gather the money herself but was unable to. “Debt collection agencies are very intelligent when it comes to doing research. They will threaten targeted assets like a home or income source. But in many states, homes are protected from debt collection,

Mallory Megan works for a debt collection company. Also she composes articles on business, finance, consumer spending and collection agencies.