Debt Collector Rights — What Collectors Can and Can't Do (FDCPA) — In Plain Words

This page is general information only. It is not legal advice.

A federal law called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) limits what debt collectors can do.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is the federal agency that explains this law in plain words.

This page follows the CFPB's own Ask CFPB pages.

It covers collector conduct: who counts as a debt collector, what collectors can't do, how they may contact you, and the notice they must send you.

It also covers your right to dispute a debt and ask for proof, called verification.

This page does not decide whether a collector broke the law in any one person's case.

It states the general rules as the CFPB states them.

The short answer

The FDCPA prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices to collect debts from you.

Collectors generally may not contact you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.

They generally may contact other people only to find out how to contact you.

They must send you validation information about the debt.

You have 30 days, as the CFPB pages below word it, to dispute the debt in writing and ask for verification.

If you dispute in writing in that window, the collector must pause collecting the disputed amount until they have responded with verification.

Who counts as a debt collector

The CFPB states the definition this way.

A debt collector is generally a person or company that regularly collects debts owed to others, or who has the primary purpose of collecting debts.

Debt collectors can include collection agencies or lawyers who collect debts as part of their business.

There are also companies that buy past-due debts from creditors or other businesses and then try to collect them.

These companies are also often called debt collection agencies, debt collection companies, or debt buyers.

The CFPB also states why a collector may be contacting you.

A creditor believes you are past due on a debt.

Creditors may use their own in-house debt collectors, or may refer or sell your debt to an outside debt collector.

A debt buyer has bought the debt and is now collecting that debt themselves, or by using other debt collectors.

A collector may also be calling you to locate someone you know.

In that case, the collector is not allowed to reveal that the consumer owes any debt.

Which debts this law covers

The CFPB states the coverage limit this way.

The FDCPA covers the collection of debts that are primarily for personal, family, or household purposes.

It doesn't cover business debts.

It also doesn't generally cover collection by the original creditor or the business you owed money to.

The original creditor is the company that gave you the loan or credit.

So the FDCPA's collector rules, as the CFPB states them, govern third-party debt collectors. The company that first lent the money is generally outside them.

The CFPB also notes that most states have laws about debt collection practices, many of which are similar to the FDCPA.

Some of those state laws cover the original creditor, while others don't.

States also have unfair and deceptive acts and practices laws that may apply to debt collection.

What collectors can't do: harassment

Federal law makes it illegal for debt collectors to use unfair or abusive practices or deceptive statements to collect a debt.

A debt collector is not allowed to harass, oppress, or abuse you or anyone else they contact.

The CFPB gives these examples of harassment.

• Repetitious phone calls with the intent to harass.
• Use of obscene or profane language.
• Threats of violence or harm.

The CFPB also states that debt collectors may not harass you or anyone else over the phone or through any other form of contact, including text or email.

What collectors can't do: false or deceptive statements

The FDCPA prohibits debt collectors from using deceptive statements to collect debts from you, including:

• Misrepresenting the nature of the debt, including the amount owed.
• Falsely claiming that the person contacting you is an attorney.
• Threatening to have you arrested.
• Threatening to do things that can't legally be done, or threatening to do things that the debt collector has no intention of doing.

Debt collectors are also not allowed to falsely claim or imply that:

• They are attorneys or government representatives.
• You have committed a crime by not paying a debt.
• They operate or work for a credit reporting company.
• You will be arrested or imprisoned if you don't pay.
• They will garnish or seize your wages, bank account, or property.
• Documents that they send you are legal documents if they aren't.

What collectors can't do: unfair practices

Here are a few examples of what the FDCPA would consider a prohibited practice used to collect on a debt, as the CFPB lists them.

Debt collectors are not allowed to:

• Try to collect charges in addition to the debt unless they are allowed by the contract or law.
• Communicate or attempt to communicate with you in connection with the collection of a debt through a social media platform if the communication or attempt to communicate is viewable by the general public or the person's social media contacts.
• Communicate with you by sending an email that the debt collector knows is provided to you by your employer, unless an exception applies.
• Use any language or symbol on an envelope for correspondence with you that indicates it is a debt collector, other than the debt collector's address or business name that doesn't indicate it's in the debt collection business.

When and how a collector may contact you

The CFPB states the time and place limits this way.

Generally, debt collectors may not contact you at an unusual time or place, or at a time or place they know or should know is inconvenient to you.

They are generally prohibited from contacting you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.

If a debt collector knows or has reason to know that you're not allowed to receive personal communications at work, they're not allowed to contact you there.

If they call you when it's inconvenient for you to speak with them, you can tell them that, and they're required to terminate the call.

The law also requires debt collectors to follow instructions you give them about when and where you don't want to be contacted.

If you don't want to receive calls from a debt collector at a particular time or place, such as on the weekends or at work, you should tell the debt collector.

How often a collector may call

The FDCPA prohibits debt collectors from placing repeated or continuous telephone calls to you, or having telephone conversations with you, with the intent to annoy, abuse, or harass you.

“Placing a telephone call” includes telephone calls that the debt collector makes and that go into voicemail.

The CFPB states that the Debt Collection Rule creates certain “presumptions” to help determine whether debt collectors have violated this law.

The debt collector is presumed to violate the law if they place a telephone call to you about a particular debt:

• More than seven times within a seven-day period, or
• Within seven days after engaging in a telephone conversation with you about the particular debt.

The CFPB calls these presumptions, not a simple count that decides every case. It also states that factors such as the frequency and pattern of phone calls and voicemails may also be used to assess whether a debt collector complied with or violated the law.

The CFPB gives this example.

If the debt collector placed seven calls to you about a debt within a seven-day period, but all seven calls were made on the same day, they could be violating the law.

There may be some exceptions to this, including if you gave them consent to call more frequently.

The limits generally apply per debt.

For student loan debt, depending on the facts, multiple debts could be counted together as one “particular debt,” so the limits would apply to those debts as a group.

These presumptions only apply to telephone calls placed by the debt collector to you.

They don't apply to other forms of communication, including text messages, emails, in-person interactions, or social media messages, which have other protections.

Social media, email, and text contact

A debt collector may not use social media to publicly post about a debt that they claim you owe.

However, they can contact you privately on social media, unless you request that they not contact you that way.

If the debt collector communicates with you using an email address, telephone text number, or other electronic medium, they must offer you a reasonable and simple method for you to opt out.

Contacting other people about you

Under federal law, a debt collector may contact other people, but generally only to find out how to contact you.

There are strict limits about what debt collectors can say or ask about you.

A debt collector generally may only contact other people to find out:

• Where you live.
• What your phone number is.
• Where you work.

Debt collectors usually can't contact people you know more than once, and they can't say they're trying to collect on a debt.

Generally, a debt collector can't discuss your debt with anyone other than:

• You.
• Your spouse.
• Your parents (if you are a minor).
• Your guardian, executor, or administrator.
• Your attorney, if you are represented with respect to the debt.

Debt collectors may ask your employer for your address or telephone number.

A debt collector may not tell your employer that you owe a debt.

If your employer does not allow you to receive personal calls at work, you should let the debt collector know that.

If a debt collector knows that you are not allowed to receive the debt collector's calls at work, then the debt collector is not allowed to call you there.

If an attorney represents you

If a debt collector knows that an attorney is representing you about the debt, the debt collector generally must stop contacting you and must contact the attorney instead.

This is only true if the debt collector knows, or can easily find out, the name and contact information of your attorney.

If an attorney is representing you and a debt collector calls, give them your attorney's name and contact information, and tell them that they should contact your attorney directly, instead of you.

The CFPB's page on contacting other people adds one more point.

The debt collector may contact you if your attorney fails to respond to the collector within a reasonable period of time, or your attorney agrees that the collector can contact you.

The validation notice: what the collector must tell you

Under the debt collection rule, debt collectors have to provide you with certain information about your debt, known as validation information.

Generally, this information is provided in a written notice sent as the initial communication to you, or within five days of their first communication with you.

It may be sent by mail or electronically.

Another CFPB page words the timing this way.

There is certain information they usually must give you in the initial communication, or within five days of that initial communication.

The CFPB's validation page lists the information that generally must be included.

The information helps you recognize whether the debt is yours and, if not, how to dispute it.

• A statement that the communication is from a debt collector.
• Your name and mailing information, along with the name and mailing information of the debt collector.
• The name of the creditor you owe the debt to. It is possible that more than one creditor will be listed.
• The account number associated with the debt (if any).
• An itemization of the current amount of the debt that reflects interest, fees, payments, and credits since a particular date.
• The current amount of the debt when the notice is provided.
• Information you can use to reply to the debt collector, such as if you believe the debt is not yours or if the amount is wrong.
• An end date for a 30-day period when you can dispute the debt.

You may see other information on your notice, but the information listed above generally must be included.

The CFPB's stop-contact page adds that the notice includes a “tear-off” form with checkboxes you can fill out to dispute or request more information about the debt.

A second CFPB page summarizes the validation information in a shorter list.

On that page, validation information must include:

• The name of the creditor.
• The amount owed.
• That you can dispute the debt, and that if you don't dispute the debt within 30 days the debt collector will assume the debt is valid.
• That if you dispute the debt in writing within 30 days, the debt collector will provide verification of the debt.
• That if you request the name and address of the original creditor within 30 days (if different from the current creditor), the debt collector will provide you that information.

Both lists above are the CFPB's. The first is the CFPB's detailed validation-notice list. The second is the CFPB's shorter summary on its dispute page. This page prints both and does not merge them into one list.

Your right to dispute and ask for verification

If you believe you already paid the debt, do not owe the debt, the amount is incorrect, or that it's not even your debt, you may send a written request to the debt collector to dispute the debt or receive more information.

The CFPB's pages word the 30-day window two ways. This page prints both wordings, attributed, and does not merge them. Wording one, from the CFPB's validation page: “Once you receive the debt validation information, you have 30 days to dispute the debt in writing.” Wording two, from the CFPB's after-dispute page: a collector must stop if you send a written dispute “generally within 30 days after your initial communication with them,” and, on the same page, “sending it in writing within 30 days of receiving a validation notice” requires them to stop.

The CFPB's dispute page words the start of the window this way.

Once you receive the validation information or notice from the debt collector during or after your initial communication with them, you have 30 days to dispute all or part of the debt, if you don't believe that you owe it.

If you receive a validation notice, the end date of the 30-day period will be specified.

Failing to request verification in writing, or within this time period, can affect your ability to assert your rights under the debt collection rule.

While you can submit your dispute at any time, sending it in writing within 30 days of receiving a validation notice, which can be your initial communication with the debt collector, requires them to stop their collection activity until they've sent you a verification that responds to your dispute.

If you send the debt collector the written verification request, or a request for information about the original creditor, within this 30-day period, the debt collector must pause collecting the amount of the debt you are disputing until they've adequately responded to your request.

Once you've disputed the debt, the collector can't call or contact you to collect the debt until they've responded with verification of the debt.

You can also request that the debt collector give you the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor.

If you make that request in writing within 30 days, the debt collector has to stop all debt collection activities until it provides you that information.

A debt collector must stop all collection activity on a debt if you send them a written dispute about the debt, generally within 30 days after your initial communication with them.

Collection activities can restart, though, after the debt collector sends verification responding to the dispute.

After they've sent you verification of the debt, the collector can continue to contact you unless you take other actions, such as telling them in writing to stop, or by taking other legal action.

If you still disagree about whether a debt is yours, or whether the information or amount is accurate, you may continue to dispute the debt with the debt collector.

If you find the disputed debt on your credit report, you can also dispute it with the credit reporting companies.

If a debt collector contacts you about a debt you've already paid, the CFPB states that you can let them know that you paid the debt by providing confirmation of your payments.

You can send copies of documents that prove you made the payments, including cancelled checks or credit card statements.

Don't send original documents — only copies — so you can keep the originals as proof.

Telling the collector to stop contacting you

If you don't want a debt collector to contact you again, write a letter to the debt collector saying so.

Once a debt collector receives your letter requesting they stop contacting you, they're not allowed to communicate with you again except to:

• Tell you there will be no further contact.
• Advise you that they or the creditor may take other actions they're legally allowed to take, such as filing a lawsuit against you.

Stopping communication with a debt collector doesn't make the debt go away.

They may find alternative ways to collect it from you.

For example, they can file a lawsuit against you or report negative information to a credit reporting company, although that won't always happen.

Separate guides in this series cover cease-and-desist letters, being sued over a debt and the summons, and time-barred debt. Those topics are not repeated here.

Before a collector reports your debt

Debt collectors must take certain steps before reporting a debt to a credit reporting company.

After the debt collector has followed the rules about how to contact you, they can report your debt to a credit reporting company, as long as they follow other laws about credit reporting.

A debt collector must use at least one of the following ways to contact you about your debt before it sends information about the debt to a credit reporting company:

• Speak with you in person.
• Speak with you by telephone.
• Mail you a letter and wait a reasonable amount of time (generally 14 days) for a notice that the letter wasn't delivered.
• Send you an electronic communication and wait a reasonable amount of time (generally 14 days) for a notice that the message wasn't delivered.

Also, if you have received a validation notice about a debt from a debt collector, it means they have satisfied their requirement to contact you and, in general, can begin to report the debt to credit reporting companies.

Keep records, and where complaints go

It's important to keep a record of any letters, documents, or communications a debt collector sends to you.

Write down dates and times of conversations, along with notes about what you discussed.

These records can help you if you're disputing the debt, meeting with a lawyer, or going to court.

Also, be careful what you say to a debt collector, because they keep records as well.

They can track any information you provide, including personal information, or if you apologize or admit to owing the debt.

Those statements could be used against you.

If you send the debt collector a letter, make a copy and send the original to the debt collector.

It's also generally a good idea to send the letter by certified mail.

If you pay for a “return receipt,” that gives you proof the debt collector received your letter.

You may also send the letter electronically. Just be sure to keep a copy.

If you think a debt collector failed to give you the validation information, you can submit a complaint with the CFPB.

If you're having an issue with debt collection, you can submit a complaint with the CFPB online or by calling (855) 411-CFPB (2372).

You can also contact your state attorney general's office for more information about the laws in your state.

The CFPB states that if the collector continues to contact you after receiving a written notice to stop, or after you've told them you have a lawyer and have provided the lawyer's contact information, they are likely violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

You can sue the debt collector for violating the FDCPA.

If you sue under the FDCPA and win, the debt collector must generally pay your attorney's fees and might also have to pay you damages.

What to do

Read the validation notice when it arrives, and note the end date it gives for the 30-day dispute period.

If you don't think you owe the debt, or the amount looks wrong, dispute it in writing inside that window and ask for verification.

You can also ask in writing, inside that window, for the name and address of the original creditor.

Keep copies of everything you send and receive, with dates and times.

Tell the collector, plainly, about any time or place that is inconvenient, and about any workplace rule against personal calls.

If an attorney represents you about the debt, give the collector the attorney's name and contact information.

This page states the general rules only. It does not say whether a collector broke the law in your case.

This page is general information only. It is not legal advice.