Debt Collection Harassment Attorney: Your Rights Under Federal Law

No. A debt collector is not allowed to harass you. The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) bars collectors from conduct meant to harass, oppress or abuse. It also bars threats, lies about a debt, and calls at inconvenient times. It bars calls made repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse or harass, and it generally requires them to send a written notice about the debt. A debt collector harassment lawyer handles claims under this law.

Many people facing a collector's calls arrive here after weeks of it: the phone ringing during work, voicemails that sound like threats, perhaps a call to a parent or a sibling who now knows something private. Embarrassment often comes with the stress, and so does doubt. Many people assume that if they owe money, the collector can do what it likes. Federal consumer law does not work that way, and the rest of this page explains what it actually says.

This page covers the conduct the FDCPA prohibits, the limits on calls and contact, debt validation, the remedies the statute provides, and the federal agencies that accept complaints. It does not cover bankruptcy or debt relief, and it does not address whether any debt should be paid.

What the FDCPA Prohibits: Harassment, Abuse, and Deception

The FDCPA governs "debt collectors." Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6), a debt collector is a person in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of any debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect debts owed or due, or asserted to be owed or due, another. The definition generally reaches third parties collecting for someone else. It excludes, among others, a creditor's own officers and employees collecting in the creditor's name. It does include a creditor collecting its own debts under a name that suggests a third party is collecting.

Three provisions do most of the work:

• Harassment and abuse. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692d, a collector may not engage in conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress or abuse any person in connection with collecting a debt. The statute names examples, and the list is not exhaustive. It includes using or threatening violence or other criminal means, obscene or profane language, and publishing a list of consumers who allegedly refuse to pay. It also covers advertising a debt for sale to coerce payment, repeated or continuous calls made with intent to annoy, abuse or harass, and calls without meaningful disclosure of the caller's identity, subject to a limited statutory exception.
• False or misleading statements. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692e, a collector may not use false, deceptive or misleading representations. Examples in the statute include misstating the amount or legal status of a debt and falsely implying that a communication is from an attorney. They also include threatening arrest or seizure of property unless that action is lawful and intended, and threatening action that cannot legally be taken or is not intended.
• Unfair practices. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692f, a collector may not use unfair or unconscionable means. One example is collecting any amount, including interest or fees, unless the agreement creating the debt expressly authorizes it or the law permits it.

Whether a particular collector's conduct violates any of these provisions depends on the specific facts.

Calls, Texts, and Contact: When and How Collectors May Reach You

Time and place come first. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a), a collector generally may not contact a consumer at an unusual or inconvenient time or place. Absent other knowledge, the collector must assume the convenient time is after 8 a.m. and before 9 p.m., local time at the consumer's location. Prior consent the consumer gives directly to the collector, or a court's express permission, can change this. The same subsection generally bars contacting a consumer the collector knows has an attorney for the debt, and calling at work when the collector knows or has reason to know the employer prohibits it.

Other people. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(b), a collector generally may not discuss the debt with anyone except the consumer, the consumer's attorney, a consumer reporting agency if otherwise permitted by law, the creditor, the creditor's attorney, or the collector's own attorney. Exceptions apply for the consumer's prior consent, a court's permission, and steps reasonably necessary for a postjudgment remedy. For these purposes, "consumer" includes a spouse, a parent of a minor, a guardian, an executor or an administrator. The FTC explains that a collector can contact others to find a consumer's address, home phone number and workplace, but usually only once, and can never tell them the consumer owes a debt. The rules on debt collectors calling family cover this in more detail.

Stopping contact. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c), a consumer may notify a collector in writing that the consumer refuses to pay or wants communication to stop. The collector then generally may not communicate further about that debt. The exceptions are to say its efforts are ending, to say it or the creditor may invoke specified remedies they ordinarily invoke, or to say it intends to invoke a specified remedy. A notice sent by mail is complete when received. The CFPB notes that such a request does not necessarily stop a lawsuit or credit reporting.

Call frequency. Regulation F, at 12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b), presumes a collector complies with the rule against repeated or continuous calls intended to annoy, abuse or harass if it places calls to a particular person about a particular debt neither more than seven times within seven consecutive days nor within a period of seven consecutive days after a telephone conversation with the person about that debt. A collector that places calls in excess of either frequency is presumed to violate that rule. Calls placed with the person's prior consent given directly to the collector, within seven consecutive days after receiving it, are excluded. Calls that do not connect, and calls to certain other persons, are excluded too. The CFPB says these presumptions apply to calls only, not to texts or emails. Those communications have other protections, and texts intended to harass may themselves be harassment.

State law may add protections, and it differs from state to state.

Debt Validation: A Consumer's Right to Verify the Debt

Debt validation is the process by which a collector tells a consumer, in writing, what debt it is collecting, and the consumer can make the collector verify it. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a), the collector generally must send a written notice within five days after its first communication about the debt. It need not send one if the first communication already contained the information or the consumer has paid. 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, or any part of it, within thirty days after receiving the notice;
• that if the consumer disputes in writing within that period, the collector will obtain verification or a copy of a judgment and mail it to the consumer; and
• that, on the consumer's written request within that period, the collector will provide the original creditor's name and address, if different from the current creditor.

Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b), a consumer may dispute the debt in writing within the thirty days or request the original creditor's name. The collector must then stop collecting the debt, or the disputed portion, until it mails the verification, judgment or creditor information. During the thirty days, collection activity may not overshadow or be inconsistent with the consumer's dispute rights. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(c), a consumer's failure to dispute is not an admission of liability.

What the FDCPA Makes Potentially Available to Consumers

People who have spent months fielding these calls often want to know whether the law gives them anything beyond a way to make the calls stop. The statute's civil liability provision, 15 U.S.C. § 1692k, answers that. Its remedies apply only where a debt collector has failed to comply with the FDCPA, and only as a court determines.

Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a), a collector that fails to comply with the FDCPA is liable for the following:

• any actual damage the person sustained as a result of the failure;
• in an individual action, such additional damages as the court may allow, but not exceeding $1,000; and
• in a successful action, the costs of the action and a reasonable attorney's fee as determined by the court.

The section also provides for class actions, within limits it sets. In setting additional damages in an individual action, the court considers factors including the frequency and persistence of noncompliance, its nature, and the extent to which it was intentional. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(c), 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. If a court finds an action was brought in bad faith and to harass, the court may award the collector its fees. The FTC adds that a consumer who shows a violation may still owe the debt.

Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(d), an action must be brought within one year from the date on which the violation occurs. A broader overview of consumer lawsuits under federal law explains how these claims fit alongside other statutes.

Whether any situation gives rise to liability depends on its facts and the applicable law. This page does not assess any situation or predict any outcome.

Filing a Complaint with the CFPB or FTC

Agency complaints are a separate path from a lawsuit. The CFPB states that a person having issues with debt collection, or who believes a collector is harassing them, can submit a complaint with the CFPB. The FTC describes reporting a collector as one option for someone who thinks a collector broke the law. It describes suing in state or federal court as another option, besides reporting (FTC Debt Collection FAQs).

A complaint to an agency is not a private legal claim under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k. Submitting one does not start a lawsuit.

The CFPB also stresses record-keeping. It suggests keeping any letters, documents or communications a collector sends, and noting the dates, times and content of conversations. It also cautions that collectors keep records and can track what a consumer says, including an apology or an admission of owing the debt (CFPB). Those same records matter whether a consumer files a complaint, disputes a debt, or speaks with an attorney.

How Federal Consumer Rights Works

Federal Consumer Rights is a website that provides information and facilitates inquiries concerning consumer-protection matters. It is not a law firm, does not provide legal advice and does not represent consumers.

A person may submit a request for a case review through this site, and the request may be passed to attorneys who decide for themselves whether to respond.

The consumer rights attorney page explains how the federal consumer statutes fit together, including credit reports and unwanted calls.

Requesting a Consumer Rights Case Review

Whether a collector's conduct violates the statute depends on the facts, such as who called, how often, at what hours, what was said or left on voicemail, and whether anyone else was contacted. This page does not address whether to pay a debt, bankruptcy, or the debt-relief options sometimes raised alongside collection problems.

A person may request a consumer rights case review through Federal Consumer Rights.