When a debt collector keeps calling after being told to stop, federal law draws a line at writing. Once a debt collector receives a written notice that a consumer refuses to pay or wants contact to end, it generally must stop communicating about that debt, except to say it is ending its efforts or to give notice of specific steps such as a lawsuit.
A consumer may have said "please stop calling" and still be getting calls. That raises a real question: did the request count under the law? This page walks through what the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act requires of debt collectors, what a written stop request does and does not change, and what the law makes potentially available when contact continues.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq., was written, in its own words, "to eliminate abusive debt collection practices by debt collectors." It applies to a "debt collector," which 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6) defines as a person who uses 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." The definition has listed exclusions, including a creditor's own employees collecting in the creditor's name.
The stop right sits in 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c). If a consumer "notifies a debt collector in writing that the consumer refuses to pay a debt or that the consumer wishes the debt collector to cease further communication," the collector "shall not communicate further with the consumer with respect to such debt," except:
- to advise the consumer that the collector's further efforts are being terminated;
- to notify the consumer that the collector or creditor may invoke specified remedies it ordinarily invokes; or
- where applicable, to notify the consumer that the collector or creditor intends to invoke a specified remedy.
The key word is writing. A spoken "stop calling" is not the notice 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c) describes. A spoken request is not meaningless, though: it can matter under the FDCPA's separate rules on inconvenient times and places, covered below.
How a Written Cease-Communication Notice Works in Practice
15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c) describes the notice by what it says: that the consumer refuses to pay a debt or wishes the debt collector to cease further communication with the consumer.
Regulation F, the CFPB's debt collection rule, repeats the requirement at 12 C.F.R. § 1006.6(c): after a written refusal-to-pay or cease notice, the collector "must not communicate or attempt to communicate further" about the debt, with the same three exceptions. The CFPB explains that if a consumer asks a collector to stop all contact "regardless of the communications channel," the collector must stop. That covers calls, letters, texts and email alike.
Timing turns on delivery. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c), a notice sent by mail is "complete upon receipt." The FTC's debt collection FAQs say to consider sending a request to stop contact by certified mail with a paid return receipt, so there is a record the collector got it. The CFPB also notes that where a collector provides an electronic way to submit the letter, a consumer can use it instead.
Two limits are worth knowing. Stopping contact does not erase the debt, and, as the CFPB puts it, a collector may still file a lawsuit or report to a credit reporting company. The CFPB also notes that a consumer who disputes a debt can do so before asking contact to end.
Separate from any stop notice, 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a) limits contact from the start. Without the consumer's prior consent given directly to the collector or a court's express permission, a debt collector may not communicate with a consumer about a debt "at any unusual time or place or a time or place known or which should be known to be inconvenient to the consumer." Absent knowledge to the contrary, the collector must assume that convenient hours are after 8 a.m. and before 9 p.m., local time at the consumer's location.
That is where a spoken instruction carries weight. The CFPB states that the law requires collectors to follow instructions a consumer gives about when and where they do not want to be contacted.
Calls at work have their own rule. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a)(3), a collector may not communicate with a consumer at the consumer's place of employment if it "knows or has reason to know" the employer prohibits such communication. The rule turns on the collector's knowledge.
Other people are covered too. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(b), generally (subject to location-only contacts, consent, court permission and post-judgment remedies), a collector may not discuss a 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 or the collector's attorney. More on debt collectors calling family members is covered separately. All of these limits apply whether or not a stop notice has been sent.
Conduct the FDCPA Prohibits as Harassment or Abuse
Continued calling can raise a second issue beyond the stop notice. 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." The statute lists examples, including threats of violence, obscene language, and calls without meaningful disclosure of the caller's identity.
One example fits this situation directly. Section 1692d(5) prohibits "causing a telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass any person at the called number." Intent is part of the rule.
Regulation F adds a measuring stick at 12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b)(2). A collector is presumed to violate that rule if it calls a particular person about a particular debt more than seven times within seven consecutive days, or within seven consecutive days after having a phone conversation with that person about the debt. Staying within both limits creates a presumption of compliance instead. Some calls do not count, including calls placed with the person's prior consent given directly to the collector (within seven days of that consent) and calls that do not connect. The CFPB notes that calls going to voicemail count as placed calls, and that the presumptions do not apply to texts or email, which have other protections.
A presumption is a starting point, not a verdict. The CFPB notes that the pattern of calls also matters; seven calls in a single day could still be a problem. Whether a particular run of calls violates the law depends on its facts.
What the Law Makes Potentially Available When a Collector Continues Contact
Liability is set by 15 U.S.C. § 1692k. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a), a debt collector that fails to comply with the FDCPA is liable for the sum of: any actual damage sustained as a result; 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 "together with a reasonable attorney's fee as determined by the court." Class actions follow a separate formula in the same subsection.
Each piece depends on something. Actual damages depend on harm the person can show resulted from the failure. Additional damages are up to the court, which under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(b) considers, among other factors, "the frequency and persistence of noncompliance," "the nature of such noncompliance," and "the extent to which such noncompliance was intentional." Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(c), a collector may not be held 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. A court may also award fees to the collector if it finds an action was brought in bad faith and to harass.
There is a firm deadline. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(d), an action may be brought "within one year from the date on which the violation occurs." The FTC also points out that even if a court finds a violation, the consumer may still owe the debt. Whether any situation is a violation, and what may follow, depends on its facts; consumer lawsuits under federal law are explained separately.
Filing a Complaint with the CFPB or FTC
An agency complaint is a separate path from a private lawsuit, and it does not require going to court.
The CFPB states that a consumer having trouble with debt collection can submit a complaint with the CFPB. The CFPB's guidance on stop requests adds that a collector that keeps contacting a consumer after a written stop notice is "likely violating" the FDCPA, as the CFPB phrases it.
The FTC describes reporting a debt collector as an option available alongside a lawsuit in its debt collection FAQs. An overview of how the FDCPA, FCRA and TCPA fit together appears on the consumer rights attorney page.
If You'd Like a Consumer Rights Case Review
The CFPB says that when a consumer is being contacted by a debt collector, it is important to keep a record of any letters, documents or communications the collector sends, along with the dates and times of conversations. This page does not cover credit-report disputes or calls governed by other federal statutes.
To request a consumer rights case review, contact Federal Consumer Rights.
