If a debt collector is calling, writing or contacting people you know, a federal law sets limits on what it may do. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act bars debt collectors from harassing, deceiving or using unfair means against consumers. It also gives consumers the right to dispute a debt and to stop contact. An FDCPA lawyer, also called a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act attorney, handles claims under this law.
Many people facing a debt collector arrive at a page like this one after a phone that will not stop ringing, a letter naming an amount they do not recognize, or a call to a parent or a workplace that left them embarrassed. Many are not sure whether they owe the debt at all, and fewer are sure whether the collector's conduct is simply unpleasant or something the law actually addresses. This page lays out what the federal statute covers, the conduct it prohibits, and the rights it gives a consumer. It also covers Regulation F's limits on contact, the remedies a court may award, and how a request for a case review works on this site.
What the FDCPA Covers — and Who It Governs
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq., is federal law that applies across the United States. Its stated purpose, in 15 U.S.C. § 1692(e), is to eliminate abusive debt collection practices by debt collectors. The statute also aims to keep debt collectors that avoid those practices from being put at a competitive disadvantage, and to promote consistent state action against collection abuses.
Three definitions decide whether the law reaches a situation. A consumer is any natural person obligated or allegedly obligated to pay any debt. A debt is an obligation, or alleged obligation, to pay money arising from a transaction primarily for personal, family or household purposes, whether or not it has been reduced to judgment. Business debts fall outside that definition.
A debt collector, under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6), is any person who uses interstate commerce or the mails in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of any debts. The definition also covers a person who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another. The definition excludes several groups, including officers and employees of a creditor collecting in the creditor's name and a person collecting a debt that the person originated. A creditor collecting its own debts in its own name is therefore generally outside the definition. One exception matters: a creditor that uses a name other than its own, suggesting a third person is collecting, is included. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau states that the FDCPA does not cover business debts and does not generally cover collection by the original creditor. A broader overview of consumer rights attorney matters covers the related federal laws.
Conduct the FDCPA Prohibits
A debt collector may not engage in any conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress or abuse any person in connection with collecting a debt, under 15 U.S.C. § 1692d. The section lists examples, including:
- threats of violence;
- obscene or profane language;
- calls placed without meaningful disclosure of the caller's identity, except as 15 U.S.C. § 1692b provides.
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692d(5), causing a telephone to ring, or engaging a person in conversation, repeatedly or continuously may also violate the section. That applies when it is done with intent to annoy, abuse or harass any person at the called number.
False or misleading representations are addressed in 15 U.S.C. § 1692e. Conduct that may violate it includes:
- falsely representing the character, amount or legal status of a debt;
- threatening action that cannot legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken;
- falsely representing or implying that a person is an attorney or that a communication comes from one.
Unfair practices fall under 15 U.S.C. § 1692f. Among them is collecting any amount, including interest, fees or charges, that the agreement creating the debt does not expressly authorize and the law does not permit.
Communication limits appear in 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a). These limits apply unless the consumer has given prior consent directly to the collector or a court has given express permission. Among them, a collector may not contact a consumer at an unusual or inconvenient time or place. Absent knowledge to the contrary, the convenient time is after 8 a.m. and before 9 p.m., local time at the consumer's location. A collector also may not contact a consumer at work if it knows or has reason to know the employer prohibits such communication.
Whether a particular call, letter or statement violates the statute depends on its facts.
Rights a Consumer Has Under the FDCPA
When a letter shows up for a debt that does not look familiar, it may be the validation notice. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a), a debt collector must send a written notice within five days after its initial communication. That requirement does not apply if the initial communication already contained the information or the consumer has paid the debt. The notice must state:
- the amount of the debt;
- the name of the creditor to whom it is owed;
- that the debt will be assumed valid unless the consumer disputes it within thirty days after receiving the notice;
- that if the consumer disputes it in writing within that period, the collector will obtain verification or a copy of a judgment and mail it to the consumer;
- that, on written request within that period, the collector will provide the original creditor's name and address if it differs from the current creditor.
If the consumer disputes in writing within the thirty days, the collector must cease collection of the disputed debt or portion until it mails the verification. A consumer's failure to dispute may not be treated by a court as an admission of liability.
A consumer may also notify a collector in writing that the consumer refuses to pay or wants communication to stop. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c), the collector may then contact the consumer only for three purposes:
- to say its efforts are ending;
- to say it or the creditor may invoke specified remedies it ordinarily invokes;
- where applicable, to say it intends to invoke a specified remedy.
Third-party contact is limited too. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(b), a collector generally may not discuss the debt with anyone other than:
- the consumer;
- the consumer's attorney;
- a consumer reporting agency if otherwise permitted by law;
- the creditor;
- the creditor's attorney;
- the collector's attorney.
The exceptions are prior consent, court permission, or what is reasonably necessary for a postjudgment remedy. For this rule, "consumer" includes the consumer's spouse, parent (if the consumer is a minor), guardian, executor or administrator. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692b, a collector seeking location information may not tell others that the consumer owes a debt. It generally may not contact them more than once. The rules on debt collectors calling family cover this in more detail.
What the FDCPA Makes Potentially Available as Remedies
A court, not the statute alone, decides whether a collector is liable. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a), a debt collector that fails to comply with the subchapter with respect to any person is liable for the sum of three things:
- any actual damage sustained as a result of that failure;
- additional damages, which differ by the type of case;
- in a successful action, the costs of the action together with a reasonable attorney's fee as determined by the court.
In an individual action, additional damages are whatever the court may allow, not exceeding $1,000. In a class action, each named plaintiff may receive that same individual amount. For all other class members, the court may allow an amount not to exceed the lesser of $500,000 or 1 per centum of the debt collector's net worth.
The text attaches conditions. The court must weigh factors, including the frequency and persistence of noncompliance, its nature, and the extent to which it was intentional. A collector is not liable if it shows, by a preponderance of evidence, that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error despite procedures reasonably adapted to avoid it. If a court finds an action was brought in bad faith and for harassment, it may award fees to the defendant.
The action must be brought within one year from the date the violation occurs, under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(d). The FTC notes that even if a court finds a collector violated the FDCPA, the consumer may still owe the debt. Whether any remedy is available depends on the facts of the specific case. More on how these claims proceed appears under consumer lawsuits under federal law.
Regulation F, 12 C.F.R. Part 1006, is the CFPB's rule implementing the FDCPA. It adopts the same core definition of debt collector in 12 C.F.R. § 1006.2(i).
Its call-frequency rule in 12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b) works through presumptions tied to a particular person and a particular debt. A collector is presumed to comply if it calls a person about a debt neither more than seven times within seven consecutive days, nor within seven consecutive days after a telephone conversation with that person about the debt. The day of the conversation counts as day one. A collector that exceeds either frequency is presumed to violate the rule.
Some calls do not count toward those limits:
- calls placed with the person's prior consent given directly to the collector, within seven consecutive days after receiving it;
- calls not connected to the dialed number;
- calls to certain persons the regulation specifies.
The measure is per debt. Each debt in collection is tracked separately, except that student loans serviced under a single account number count as one.
Regulation F also reaches electronic contact. According to the CFPB, a collector may not publicly post about a debt on social media. It may contact a consumer privately there unless asked not to. A collector that uses email, text or another electronic medium must offer a reasonable and simple method to opt out. The CFPB also treats repetitious texts, emails or social media messages intended to harass as harassment by a debt collector.
How Federal Consumer Rights Can Help
Federal Consumer Rights is a website that provides information and facilitates inquiries concerning consumer-protection matters, including debt collection. It is not a law firm, and it represents no one. A person may submit a request for a consumer rights case review through this site. That request may be passed to attorneys, who decide for themselves whether to respond.
The FDCPA is national, but state law can add protections, and those protections differ from state to state. California is one example. Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.17, every debt collector collecting or attempting to collect a consumer debt must comply with the FDCPA's provisions in 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692b to 1692j, inclusive, and is subject to the remedies in 15 U.S.C. § 1692k. Under that California section, 15 U.S.C. § 1692e(11) and § 1692g do not apply to a person described in 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(A) or (B), meaning certain creditor employees and affiliated collectors, or to that person's principal. The federal references are to those codes as they read on January 1, 2001.
When collection calls keep coming, it can be hard to tell which details will matter later. The CFPB describes keeping letters and documents and writing down the dates, times and substance of conversations. These records can matter in disputing a debt, meeting with a lawyer or going to court.
This page does not cover business debts, bankruptcy, debt relief or settlement, or whether any debt should be paid. Credit-report questions fall under a separate law. The page on disputing Experian report errors addresses a related subject.
Requesting a Consumer Rights Case Review
Debt-collection matters turn on small details: which company is collecting, what it said or sent and on what dates, and whether a written dispute or cease-contact letter went out and what came back. This page explains federal law and California's own rule. It does not cover other states' statutes or whether a debt should be paid.
A consumer may request a consumer rights case review about a debt-collection matter through Federal Consumer Rights.
