Image courtesy of the Federal Trade Commission — Slide 1 of 12
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
A strong federal law, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, protects consumers against certain unfair collection practices. It applies only to outside, or third party debt collectors (not creditors collecting their own debts) and only for personal (not business) debts.
State laws may provide additional protection.
Every year, the Federal Trade Commission makes a report to Congress describing the debt collection complaints they received. According to that report, the FTC received 140,036 complaints about debt collectors—up from 119,609 in 2009.
Photo by Earthworm — Slide 2 of 12
1. Calling You Repeatedly To Annoy Or Harass You
Number of complaints: 54,147
The law: Collectors can’t call repeatedly just to harass you.
(However there is no specific number of calls that they can make within a given time period. That’s left up to the courts to decide.)
Tip: Keep records of when they call!
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Photo by Turk12 — Slide 3 of 12
2. Trying to Collect More Than You Owe
Number of complaints: 10,614
The law: Debt collectors can’t charge more than the amount described in the original contract or what is permitted by law.
In other words, they can’t illegally inflate debts. But that doesn’t mean they don’t try!
[Resource: Top Ten Debt Collection Rights for Consumers]
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3. Fail to Send a Written Notice of the Debt
Number of complaints: 32, 477
The law: Within five days of initially contacting you, the collector must send written notice of the debt that includes:
- The amount of the debt
- The name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed
- A statement describing your right to dispute the debt
Photo by Jeremy Brooks — Slide 5 of 12
4. Threatening Violence
Number of complaints: 4,182
The law: Debt collectors may not threaten violence when collecting debts. Period.
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Photo by Andy Wilson — Slide 6 of 12
5. Threatening Dire Consequences
Number of complaints: 27,554
The law: Collectors can’t threaten a lawsuit, criminal prosecution, wage garnishment, jail time, or to ruin your credit rating, etc. unless they have the legal authority to do so, and intend to do so. These threats are often illegal! Collectors must usually take you to court first and win before they can take these kinds of actions—if they are legal in the first place.
[Resource: Top Ten Debt Collection Rights for Consumers]
Photo by lofoto — Slide 7 of 12
6. Using Obscene, Profane or Abusive Language
Number of complaints: 17,532
The law: Obscene, profane or abusive language—including racial slurs—is illegal.
Debt collector going overboard? Take notes and tell them you’ll be taping the conversation.
[Consumer Resource: Understanding Your Debt Collection Rights]
Photo by Stephen Bowler — Slide 8 of 12
7. Calling Before 8 am or After 9 pm
Number of complaints: 12,871
The law: Collectors may not call before 8 am or after 9 pm (unless you’ve given them permission to do so), or at times you’ve told them are inconvenient.
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Photo by Taylor Dawn Fortune — Slide 9 of 12
8. Revealing Debt to Third Parties
Number of complaints: 13,568
The law: Collectors can call third parties such as neighbors, friends or co-workers only to locate the debtor.
When they do, they can’t reveal the debt and there are limits on repeated calls.
[Consumer Resource: Understanding Your Debt Collection Rights]
Photo by Rebekah Pavlovic — Slide 10 of 12
9. Calling You at Work After You’ve Told Them to Stop
Number of complaints: 17,008
The law: If you tell a collector not to call you at work to discuss the debt, those calls must stop.
[Infographic: What to do if a Debt Collector Calls]
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10. Failing to Verify Disputed Debts
Number of complaints: 11,492
The law: If you dispute a collection account in writing, the collector must stop trying to collect until it provides written verification of the debt.
Photo by StartTheDay — Slide 12 of 12
11. Ignoring Cease Communication Requests
Number of complaints: 7,343
The law: Consumers have the right to tell a debt collector, in writing, to stop contacting them. Once the debt collector gets that notice, contact must stop, except to send notification of legal action against the debt collector.
Get Help
If you think a debt collector has broken the law, you can:
- Complain to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and your state attorney general, and/or
- Contact a consumer law attorney. You may be entitled to damages and/or attorney’s fees.
For More Advice
See our infographic, What To Do When A Debt Collector Calls