EL PASO, Texas -- One local attorney tells KFOX he's getting an unusual number of clients complaining about harassment from debt collectors. He wants the public to know they have rights. He gives KFOX an example of what creditors can be like.

Michelle Medrano says she received a call from a debt collector demanding information about her brother because he had a bill he hadn't paid. It's something that's happening more often now, according to attorney Scott Vogelmeier.

"None of them are licensed, a lot of them collecting debts they don't have the authority to collect," said Vogelmeier.

Vogelmeier allowed our KFOX crew to listen to a message from a creditor saved by one of his clients:

"...a phone call regarding a pending lawsuit that's scheduled to be brought against you. Ignoring this message is not going to help. We're going to call your neighbors to get information regarding your family or members of your church," said an unidentified debt collector.

"At one point in your life you're going to have to grow up and become a woman and an adult and act like one," he said.

Vogelmeier said the debt collector violated several laws in that one short phone message.

"They're not allowed to tell you that they filed lawsuits when they haven't. They're not allowed to mention lawsuits if they have no intentions of filing them. They're not allowed to tell you you're going to be arrested," said Vogelmeier.

He said people are protected under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. He says under this act, debt collectors are violating the law when they don't inform the person that they're a debt collector. They're also breaking the law when they disclose the debt to other people, like in Medrano's brother's case.

"I was worried and a little angry at the same time because of the way she made the threat. It was mainly worry for me and my brother," said Medrano.

Vogelmeier said he's even had clients who paid a debt they didn't even owe only to stop the harassment. If you want more information about the FDCPA, go to the links mentioned section.