What to Do When Collection Calls Won't Stop

If your phone has been ringing from numbers you don't recognize, or the same number keeps calling at odd hours, it helps to know exactly what a collector is and isn't allowed to do. This isn't legal advice, and it isn't a promise of any particular result. It's a plain summary of a federal law that already exists to protect you, published in full by the Federal Trade Commission, so you can decide what to do with the information.

The Law That Covers This

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, commonly called the FDCPA, sets rules for how third-party debt collectors are allowed to contact you. It applies to collection agencies and to attorneys who collect debts as a regular part of their business. It generally does not apply to the original creditor collecting its own debt directly, that's a separate area of state and federal law, so the specifics below are about collectors, not necessarily about a bank calling about its own account.

When They're Allowed to Call

Under the FDCPA, a debt collector generally can't call you before 8:00 AM or after 9:00 PM in your time zone, unless you've specifically agreed to a different window. That's not a suggestion, it's a rule with real teeth behind it. If a collector is calling you at 6:30 AM or 10:00 PM on a regular basis, that's outside what the law allows.

What They're Not Allowed to Do

• Call repeatedly or continuously with the intent to annoy, abuse, or harass you
• Use obscene, profane, or abusive language
• Threaten violence or harm
• Falsely claim you'll be arrested, or that you've committed a crime, if you don't pay
• Misrepresent the amount you owe or falsely claim to be an attorney or government official
• Contact you at work if they've been told, verbally or in writing, that your employer prohibits it
• Continue contacting you directly, in most cases, once they know you have a lawyer representing you on the debt

You Can Put It in Writing

You have the right to send a collector a written request that they stop contacting you, and once they receive it, the law limits further contact, generally to confirming they'll stop or notifying you of a specific action like a lawsuit. This doesn't erase the debt. It only changes how they're allowed to reach you about it. Keep a copy of anything you send, and send it in a way you can prove was received, certified mail is the traditional route.

Ask for Verification

Within a set window after first being contacted, you can request written verification that the debt is actually yours, and for the amount claimed. Collectors are required to provide this before continuing collection efforts if you ask. It's a reasonable thing to request, especially if a debt is old, if the amount seems wrong, or if you don't recognize the account at all.

The FTC Publishes the Full Law

None of this is a substitute for reading the actual statute or talking to an attorney about your specific situation, and we're not offering either here. The Federal Trade Commission publishes the full text and plain-language guidance on the FDCPA, and it's worth reading directly if collection calls are a regular part of your week. Knowing the rule tends to change the call itself, calmly stating what you know your rights are is often enough to shift the conversation.

Where This Fits With the Bigger Picture

Knowing your rights under the FDCPA handles how you're contacted. It doesn't handle the underlying debt itself, and for a lot of people the calls are just the loudest symptom of a bigger juggling act with several accounts at once. If that's your situation, a conversation with a credit counselor can lay out what a structured monthly payment might look like across everything you owe, separate from the collection-call question entirely. Call (512) 501-3955 if you want to talk through either piece, or both.