Federal law forbids a debt collector from harassing you, lying to you, or using unfair tactics to collect a consumer debt. That includes threats, abusive language, repeated calls meant to annoy, false claims about what you owe, calls at inconvenient hours, and generally contacting most other people about your debt.
A person searching for an illegal debt collection attorney may arrive here after a call that felt wrong: a voicemail hinting at arrest, a caller who would not give a name, a letter demanding a figure that does not match anything they remember, or a relative asking why a collector phoned them. Many feel embarrassed about the debt itself and unsure whether they are even allowed to object. The question underneath is simple: did this collector cross a line the law draws, or is this just how collection works?
This page walks through the federal rules that draw those lines, one category at a time, and what the law makes available when a collector steps over them.
What the FDCPA Is and Who It Covers
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq., states its purpose plainly in 15 U.S.C. § 1692: "to eliminate abusive debt collection practices by debt collectors." Three defined terms decide whether it applies.
A debt collector, under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6), is any person "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." The term generally excludes a creditor's own officers and employees collecting in the creditor's name, though a creditor that uses another name suggesting a third party is collecting is covered. A consumer is any natural person obligated or allegedly obligated to pay a debt. A debt is an obligation arising from a transaction primarily for personal, family or household purposes, whether or not reduced to judgment.
The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (the CFPB) issues Regulation F, 12 C.F.R. Part 1006, which carries these rules forward. State law may add protections and differs from state to state; California's Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is one example of a state layer.
Harassment and Abuse: What the Law Prohibits
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692d, 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 the collection of a debt." That protection reaches "any person," not only the consumer. The statute lists six examples, without limiting the general rule:
- the use or threat of violence or other criminal means to harm a person's body, reputation or property;
- obscene or profane language, or language whose natural consequence is to abuse the hearer or reader;
- publishing a list of consumers who allegedly refuse to pay, except to a consumer reporting agency or certain others the statute names;
- advertising a debt for sale to coerce payment;
- causing a telephone to ring, or engaging someone in conversation, repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse or harass (15 U.S.C. § 1692d(5));
- placing calls without meaningful disclosure of the caller's identity, except as the location-information rules allow.
Regulation F gives the repeated-call rule a measuring stick. Under 12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b), a collector is presumed to comply with 15 U.S.C. § 1692d(5) if it calls a particular person about a particular 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. Exceeding either limit creates a presumption of violation. Some calls do not count toward those limits, including calls placed with the person's prior consent given directly to the collector and within seven consecutive days after receiving that consent, and calls not connected to the dialed number. A presumption is a starting point, not a verdict: whether particular calls violate the law depends on their facts.
False, Deceptive, and Misleading Representations
Where the harassment rule addresses how a collector behaves, 15 U.S.C. § 1692e addresses what it says. A debt collector "may not use any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt." The statute's examples include:
- falsely implying the collector is vouched for by, bonded by or affiliated with the United States or any state;
- falsely representing the character, amount or legal status of any debt;
- falsely implying that any individual is an attorney or that a communication is from one;
- implying that nonpayment will lead to arrest, imprisonment, or seizure or garnishment of property or wages, unless the action is lawful and actually intended;
- threatening any action that cannot legally be taken or is not intended;
- communicating credit information known or that should be known to be false, including failing to say a disputed debt is disputed;
- using any false representation or deceptive means to collect a debt or obtain information about a consumer.
Attempts to collect what some call "ghost" or "phantom" debts, meaning debts not owed, already paid or belonging to someone else, may violate 15 U.S.C. § 1692e when they falsely represent the debt's character, amount or legal status. Whether they do depends on what was said and what the records show.
The "mini-Miranda" disclosure comes from 15 U.S.C. § 1692e(11). The initial written communication, and an initial oral one, must disclose that the collector is attempting to collect a debt and that information obtained will be used for that purpose; later communications must disclose that they come from a debt collector. A formal pleading in a legal action is excepted. Regulation F repeats these prohibitions at 12 C.F.R. § 1006.18.
Unfair Practices the FDCPA Forbids
A separate rule targets conduct rather than statements. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692f, a debt collector "may not use unfair or unconscionable means to collect or attempt to collect any debt." The examples include:
- collecting any amount, including interest, fees or charges, unless the agreement creating the debt expressly authorizes it or the law permits it;
- accepting a check postdated by more than five days without written notice, between three and ten business days before deposit, of the intent to deposit it;
- soliciting a postdated check to threaten or begin criminal prosecution;
- depositing or threatening to deposit a postdated check before its date;
- causing charges for communications by concealing their true purpose;
- taking or threatening nonjudicial action to take or disable property when there is no present right to possession through an enforceable security interest, no present intention to take possession, or the property is exempt;
- communicating with a consumer about a debt by postcard;
- putting any language or symbol other than the collector's address on an envelope, though a business name may appear if it does not indicate debt collection.
Regulation F restates the unauthorized-amounts rule at 12 C.F.R. § 1006.22(b).
When the phone rings at work or a cousin mentions a strange call, the governing rules sit in 15 U.S.C. § 1692c. The first four rules below, in 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a) and (b), apply when the consumer has not given prior consent directly to the collector and no court has expressly permitted the contact; the stop-contact rule in 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c) has its own exceptions.
- Time and place. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a)(1), a collector may not communicate at an unusual time or place, or at a time or place known, or that should be known, to be inconvenient to the consumer. Absent knowledge otherwise, the convenient time is after 8 a.m. and before 9 p.m., local time at the consumer's location.
- Attorney. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a)(2), if the collector knows the consumer has an attorney for the debt and knows or can readily find the attorney's name and address, it may not contact the consumer, unless the attorney fails to respond within a reasonable time or consents.
- Workplace. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a)(3), no contact at work if the collector knows or has reason to know the employer prohibits it.
- Third parties. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(b), a collector generally may not communicate, in connection with collecting a 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 attorney. Exceptions include limited location-seeking contacts and steps reasonably necessary for a postjudgment remedy. For this section, 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(d) provides that "consumer" includes the consumer's spouse, parent (if the consumer is a minor), guardian, executor, or administrator. More detail is on the page about debt collectors calling family.
- Stopping contact. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c), a consumer may notify a collector in writing of a refusal to pay or a wish that communication stop. The collector may then contact the consumer only to say its efforts are ending, that it or the creditor may invoke remedies it ordinarily invokes, or that it intends to invoke a specified remedy. A mailed notice is complete on receipt.
The CFPB says a collector communicating by email or text must offer a reasonable and simple way to opt out.
Debt Validation: The Right to Request Verification
The validation rule in 15 U.S.C. § 1692g answers the most basic doubt: is this debt even mine, and is the number right? Within five days after the initial communication, unless the information was in that communication or the consumer has paid, the collector must send a written notice containing:
- the amount of the debt;
- the name of the creditor to whom it is owed;
- a statement that unless the consumer disputes the debt, or any part, within thirty days after receiving the notice, the collector will assume it is valid;
- a statement 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;
- a statement that on written request within that period, the collector will provide the original creditor's name and address, if different.
A consumer may send a written dispute or a request for the original creditor's name and address within those thirty days. The collector must then stop collecting the debt, or the disputed part, until it mails verification, a judgment copy or the creditor's details. Unless the consumer has sent a written dispute or request, collection activities and communications that do not otherwise violate the Act may continue during the thirty days, but they may not overshadow or be inconsistent with the disclosure of the consumer's right to dispute the debt or request the original creditor's name and address.
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b), a timely written dispute requires verification before collection of the disputed amount resumes. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(c), a consumer's failure to dispute the debt may not be construed by any court as an admission of liability. Regulation F (12 C.F.R. Part 1006) also sets out validation information a collector must provide, which goes beyond these five statutory items.
What the FDCPA Makes Available When a Collector Violates It
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a), a debt collector that fails to comply with the Act may be liable to the affected person for the sum of any actual damage sustained as a result, "such additional damages as the court may allow, but not exceeding $1,000" in an action by an individual, and, in a successful action, costs and a reasonable attorney's fee set by the court. In setting the amount, the court considers factors including how often and how persistently the collector failed to comply, the nature of the failure and whether it was intentional. If a court finds an action was brought in bad faith to harass, it may award the collector fees and costs.
There is a defense. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(c), a collector is not liable if it shows by a preponderance of evidence that the violation was unintentional and resulted from a bona fide error despite procedures reasonably adapted to avoid it. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(d), an action must be brought "within one year from the date on which the violation occurs."
Whether a situation is a violation, and whether any remedy applies, depends on its facts. The FTC's debt collection FAQs add that even when a court finds a violation, the consumer may still owe the debt. The page on a consumer lawsuit explains what such an action involves.
Filing a Complaint with the CFPB or FTC
Agency channels exist alongside a private action. The CFPB's page on harassment by a debt collector says a consumer who believes a collector is harassing them can submit a complaint with the CFPB and can also contact their state's attorney general. Its page on what a debt collector is says a consumer having issues with debt collection can submit a complaint with the CFPB. The FTC's debt collection FAQs list the CFPB among the places to report a debt collector.
An agency complaint is a separate step from a private action under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k. The one-year period in that section runs from the date the violation occurs, whatever happens with a complaint. The CFPB also notes that a collector keeps records too, and that keeping letters and writing down dates, times and what was discussed can help a consumer who is disputing a debt or going to court. Filing a complaint does not ensure any particular result.
If You'd Like a Consumer Rights Case Review
Whether a collector's conduct crossed one of these lines usually turns on details: the exact words of a voicemail, the dates and count of calls, what a letter claimed was owed, and whether a written dispute or stop-contact notice was sent first. This page explains federal debt collection law in general; it does not address credit-report disputes or the deadlines of any particular state. More on how these laws fit together appears on the page about a consumer rights attorney.
A consumer rights case review can be requested through Federal Consumer Rights.
