If an attorney represents you on a debt and the debt collector knows it, federal law generally bars the collector from contacting you directly about that debt. The collector is expected to deal with your attorney instead, unless your attorney does not respond within a reasonable time or agrees that the collector may contact you.
A consumer who hired a lawyer, or told a collector about one, may still receive calls, letters, texts or emails that seem to ignore the lawyer. The question is whether the collector crossed a line or a rule allows the contact.
This page walks through the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) rule on represented consumers: what it says, what "knowing" about an attorney means, the exceptions, the related protections, and where the statute stops.
The FDCPA Rule on Attorney Representation: What the Statute Says
The rule sits in 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a)(2). It says a debt collector may not communicate with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt "if the debt collector knows the consumer is represented by an attorney with respect to such debt and has knowledge of, or can readily ascertain, such attorney's name and address, unless the attorney fails to respond within a reasonable period of time to a communication from the debt collector or unless the attorney consents to direct communication with the consumer."
Three defined terms carry that sentence. A debt collector, under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6), is any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or the mails in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of any debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another. A consumer, under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(3), is any natural person obligated or allegedly obligated to pay any debt. A communication, under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(2), is "the conveying of information regarding a debt directly or indirectly to any person through any medium."
Because "any medium" is broad, the rule reaches calls, letters, emails and texts alike.
The prohibition has two conditions, and both must be present: the collector knows of the representation on that debt, and it knows or can readily ascertain the attorney's name and address. It then has two exceptions: the attorney fails to respond within a reasonable period, or the attorney consents to direct contact.
How a Debt Collector Gains 'Knowledge' of Representation
Knowledge is the trigger. The rule turns on what the collector knows, not on a particular form or wording of notice.
The representation has to be "with respect to such debt." An attorney handling an unrelated matter, or a different debt, does not trigger the prohibition for this one.
The CFPB's page on what laws limit what debt collectors can say or do describes a represented consumer giving a collector the attorney's name and contact information when the collector calls.
On the second condition, once the consumer or the attorney supplies the attorney's name and address, the collector can readily ascertain them.
In practice, then, a debt collector that has received notice of representation on the debt and the attorney's contact information, and then contacts the consumer directly, may be engaging in conduct that raises a question under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a)(2), subject to the exceptions below. Whether it does depends on the facts.
A reader who sees a new letter from the collector may wonder whether one of the exceptions explains it. Sometimes it does.
The attorney fails to respond. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a)(2), a collector may contact the consumer if the attorney "fails to respond within a reasonable period of time to a communication from the debt collector." The statute gives no fixed number of days.
The attorney consents. If the attorney agrees that the collector may communicate directly with the consumer, the prohibition does not apply to that authorized contact.
Two broader conditions also frame the rule. The opening words of 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a) lift its limits where the consumer has given prior consent directly to the debt collector, or a court of competent jurisdiction has expressly permitted the contact. Regulation F repeats both in 12 C.F.R. § 1006.6(b)(4), and adds that the consumer's consent must be given directly to the debt collector during a communication that does not violate paragraphs (b)(1) through (3) of that section.
Whether an exception covers a particular contact turns on facts about the collector's knowledge and the attorney's response, and conduct outside them may violate 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a)(2).
Other FDCPA Protections That Apply Alongside the Representation Rule
Representation is one layer. The FDCPA's other protections apply whether or not a consumer has an attorney, and they govern debt collectors as 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6) defines them.
Ceasing communication. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c), if a consumer notifies a debt collector in writing that the consumer refuses to pay a debt or wishes the collector to stop communicating, the collector must stop, except to say its efforts are being terminated, to say that it or the creditor may invoke specified remedies they ordinarily invoke, or, where applicable, to say it intends to invoke a specified remedy. A mailed notice is complete on receipt.
Debt validation. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g, within five days after its initial communication, unless that communication contained the information or the consumer has paid, a collector must send written notice of the amount of the debt, the creditor's name, and statements about the consumer's 30-day right to dispute and to request the original creditor's name and address. A written dispute within that period requires the collector to stop collecting the disputed amount until it mails verification or a copy of a judgment.
Conduct limits. 15 U.S.C. § 1692d bars conduct whose natural consequence is to harass, oppress or abuse, including repeated or continuous calls with intent to annoy, abuse or harass. 15 U.S.C. § 1692e bars false, deceptive or misleading representations. 15 U.S.C. § 1692f bars unfair or unconscionable means of collection. Rules on contacting relatives are covered in debt collectors calling family members.
When contact continues after notice of an attorney, records of each contact may matter.
A consumer may keep a record of each contact after notice was given: the date, the time, the channel (call, letter, email or text), and what was said or written. The CFPB's page on harassment by a debt collector describes keeping letters and documents and writing down dates, times and notes of conversations.
Agencies offer complaint processes. The CFPB's page on whether collectors can tell others about a debt says a consumer can submit a complaint with the CFPB online or by phone. The FTC's debt collection FAQs describe reporting a collector, or suing in state or federal court, as options.
On remedies, 15 U.S.C. § 1692k makes a debt collector that fails to comply potentially liable for any actual damage sustained as a result; in an individual action, additional damages the court may allow, not exceeding $1,000; in a class action, an amount for all other class members not exceeding the lesser of $500,000 or 1 per centum of the collector's net worth; and, in a successful action, costs and a reasonable attorney's fee set by the court. These depend on proving a violation, and the court weighs factors including the frequency, persistence, nature and intentionality of the noncompliance. A collector is not liable if it shows the violation was unintentional and resulted from a bona fide error despite procedures reasonably adapted to avoid it. An action must be brought within one year from the date the violation occurs. More on how such cases work appears under consumer lawsuits under federal law.
What the FDCPA Does Not Cover: Knowing the Statute's Limits
Not every company asking for money is a "debt collector" under the FDCPA. The definition in 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6), described above, generally excludes officers and employees of a creditor collecting in the creditor's name. The CFPB's page notes the FDCPA does not generally cover collection by the original creditor. A creditor that collects its own debts under a name suggesting a third party is collecting does fall within the definition.
The statute also reaches only certain debts. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(5), a debt is an obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to pay money arising from a transaction primarily for personal, family or household purposes, whether or not reduced to judgment. Business debts are generally outside its scope.
The CFPB's Regulation F, 12 C.F.R. Part 1006, implements the FDCPA. Its 12 C.F.R. § 1006.6(b)(2) states the representation rule in terms that reach attempts to communicate as well as communications, and 12 C.F.R. § 1006.2 defines "debt collector" in terms that closely follow the statute's, with its own list of exclusions.
State law may add protections and differs from state to state. In California, Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.17 provides that every debt collector, as that title defines the term, collecting or attempting to collect a consumer debt shall comply with 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692b to 1692j, inclusive, which include 15 U.S.C. § 1692c, and shall be subject to the remedies in 15 U.S.C. § 1692k, as those sections read on January 1, 2001. Subsection (11) of 15 U.S.C. § 1692e and 15 U.S.C. § 1692g do not apply to any person specified in paragraphs (A) and (B) of 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6) or that person's principal. That is California's rule under this section; this page does not cover the other provisions of California's debt collection law.
If You'd Like a Consumer Rights Case Review
Contact that continues after notice of an attorney usually turns on small details: when the collector learned of the representation, whether it had the attorney's name and address, and whether the attorney ever answered or agreed to direct contact. This page explains the federal rule; it does not address debts in a pending lawsuit, and a broader overview of these statutes appears in what a consumer rights attorney covers.
A reader may request a consumer rights case review through Federal Consumer Rights.
