Yes. If a debt collector breaks the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a consumer can sue it in federal or state court within one year of the violation. The law makes available actual damages, up to $1,000 in additional damages for an individual, and court costs and attorney's fees. What applies depends on the facts.
This page explains the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (the FDCPA), the main federal law on debt collection in the United States. It covers who can sue, what conduct the law restricts, what remedies it provides, and how a case moves forward.
What the FDCPA Says About Suing a Debt Collector
The right to sue comes from 15 U.S.C. § 1692k. That section makes a debt collector who fails to comply with the FDCPA "liable to such person" harmed by the failure. Lawyers call this a private right of action: the person affected, not only a government agency, can enforce the law in court.
A "consumer" is defined in 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(3) as "any natural person obligated or allegedly obligated to pay any debt." The word "allegedly" matters. A person a collector says owes money is covered even if they dispute the debt. The "debt" itself must be for personal, family or household purposes, not a business debt.
The law reaches only a "debt collector," defined in 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6) as a 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." Regulation F repeats this definition at 12 C.F.R. § 1006.2(i). The definition also lists exclusions, so whether a particular company is a covered debt collector depends on the facts.
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(d), an action may be brought "in any appropriate United States district court without regard to the amount in controversy, or in any other court of competent jurisdiction, within one year from the date on which the violation occurs."
Conduct the FDCPA Prohibits
Three sections set out the broad rules, and each gives examples "without limiting" its general ban.
Harassment or abuse. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692d, a collector "may not engage in any conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse any person." The listed examples include threats of violence, obscene or profane language, and causing a phone to ring "repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass." They also include calling without meaningful disclosure of the caller's identity, generally.
False or misleading statements. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692e, a collector may not use "any false, deceptive, or misleading representation." The listed examples include falsely representing "the character, amount, or legal status of any debt," and implying that nonpayment will lead to arrest unless that action is lawful and actually intended. They also include falsely implying that someone is an attorney.
Unfair practices. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692f, a collector may not use "unfair or unconscionable means." The listed examples include collecting any amount not "expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law," and contacting a consumer by post card.
When and where contact happens. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a), unless the consumer consents or a court permits it, a collector generally may not contact a consumer at an unusual or inconvenient time or place. In the absence of knowledge to the contrary, the convenient hours are after 8 a.m. and before 9 p.m., local time. Nor may a collector contact a consumer at work if it knows or has reason to know the employer prohibits such contact. Contact with other people is limited too, as the page on debt collectors calling family explains.
Stopping contact. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c), if a consumer tells a collector in writing that they refuse to pay or want communication to stop, the collector must stop contacting them about that debt. There are three exceptions: 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.
Validation. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g, within five days after first contact, a collector must send a written notice. The notice states the amount of the debt, the creditor's name and the consumer's dispute rights, unless the first contact contained that information or the consumer has paid. If the consumer disputes the debt in writing within thirty days after receiving the notice, the collector must stop collecting the disputed amount until it mails verification or a copy of a judgment.
Conduct like this may violate the FDCPA when the collector meets the statute's definition and the conditions in the text are met. Whether a particular situation violates the law depends on its facts.
What Remedies the Statute Makes Available
The remedies in 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a) are what the law makes potentially available. Each depends on a court finding that a covered debt collector failed to comply. For an individual action, the statute provides:
- "any actual damage sustained by such person as a result of such failure";
- "such additional damages as the court may allow, but not exceeding $1,000"; and
- "in the case of any successful action," the costs of the action "together with a reasonable attorney's fee as determined by the court."
Actual damages must be tied to the collector's failure, so they depend on what harm resulted and what can be shown. The additional amount is capped and left to the court. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(b), in setting it the court considers, among other factors, "the frequency and persistence of noncompliance," "the nature of such noncompliance," and "the extent to which such noncompliance was intentional." The FTC's debt collection FAQs add a point that matters: even if a court finds a collector violated the FDCPA, the consumer may still owe the debt.
The statute also gives collectors defenses. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(c), 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 notwithstanding the maintenance of procedures reasonably adapted to avoid any such error." Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(e), there is no liability for an act done in good faith in conformity with a CFPB advisory opinion. And if a court finds an action was brought in bad faith and to harass, it may award the collector its attorney's fees and costs.
How a Civil Action Under the FDCPA Typically Proceeds
Timing comes first. The one-year period in 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(d) runs "from the date on which the violation occurs," so each call, letter or statement has its own date. A consumer looking back over months of contact may find that some events fall inside the year and others do not.
A consumer who has kept collection letters, envelopes, voicemails, texts, call logs and a note of each conversation's date, time and content has a record of what happened. The CFPB's page on harassment explains that these records can help when disputing a debt or going to court. It also notes that collectors keep records too, and can use what a consumer says.
Filing can happen in either place 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(d) names: a federal district court, with no minimum amount in controversy, or another court of competent jurisdiction, such as a state court. A case then follows that court's procedural rules. The statute's provision for a reasonable attorney's fee in a successful action is part of what the law makes available. The consumer lawsuit page compares this with other federal consumer statutes.
A lawsuit is not the only path. The CFPB's page on harassment states that a consumer who believes a collector is harassing them can submit a complaint with the CFPB. The FTC's FAQs describe reporting a collector as an option besides suing. A complaint and a lawsuit are separate, and each has its own process.
Class Actions Under the FDCPA
A class action is a single lawsuit in which one or more named people sue on behalf of a larger group. It can arise when many consumers received the same letter or faced the same practice from one collector. The FDCPA addresses this directly.
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a)(2)(B), in a class action each named plaintiff may receive the same additional damages available in an individual case, up to $1,000. For all other class members, the court may allow an amount "without regard to a minimum individual recovery, not to exceed the lesser of $500,000 or 1 per centum of the net worth of the debt collector." Actual damages and costs with a reasonable attorney's fee remain available as in any successful action.
The court's factors for a class action, under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(b)(2), include the frequency, persistence and nature of the noncompliance. They also include the collector's resources, the number of people adversely affected, and the extent to which the noncompliance was intentional.
A case does not become a class action because a group of people had similar experiences. A court decides whether to certify a class, and that turns on the facts and the court's procedural rules.
What This Page Does and Does Not Cover
This page explains the FDCPA's private right of action and the collection conduct it governs. It does not apply to every company that asks for money.
Coverage turns on the definition in 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6). That definition excludes, among others, "any officer or employee of a creditor while, in the name of the creditor, collecting debts for such creditor." The CFPB's page on debt collection laws puts it this way: the FDCPA "doesn't generally cover collection by the original creditor." But a creditor that uses a different name suggesting a third party is collecting is included. The CFPB's page explaining who debt collectors are describes the kinds of businesses that collect.
This page covers federal law. Most states have their own debt collection laws, and state law may add protections that differ from state to state.
Credit report errors fall under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Unwanted calls and texts fall under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Each has its own rules, deadlines and remedies, and this page does not cover them.
If You'd Like a Consumer Rights Case Review
Whether a collector's conduct falls within the FDCPA turns on details: who the collector is and how it is set up, what was said or sent, the date of each event against the one-year deadline, and whether a dispute or stop-contact letter was sent. This page explains the federal statute and does not cover state collection laws, credit reporting disputes or calls and texts.
A reader looking for an attorney to sue a debt collector may contact Federal Consumer Rights to request a consumer rights case review.
