Consumer Rights
FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT
If a collector is calling you, there's a federal law that limits how they're allowed to go about it. This page explains the shape of that law and where to read it for yourself.
Chapter 01
There's a federal law that governs collection calls
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a federal consumer protection law, and it exists because collection calls used to go a lot further than they're allowed to now. It sets limits on how a debt collector can contact you and behave while doing it.
We're not a law firm and this page isn't legal advice. It's a plain description of the shape of the law, written so you know roughly what's covered before you go read the statute itself.
Desk telephone and a blank legal pad by a window
Legally prohibited aggressive collection methods
Legally prohibited aggressive collection methods are at the center of the law. Collectors aren't free to use whatever tactics get results. Harassment, threats and abusive language toward someone who owes a debt are the kind of conduct the law was written to stop.
The law also puts limits on when a collector can reach out at all. Collection calls outside the window of 8:00 AM - 9:00 PM are among the restricted practices, so a call to your home at 6 in the morning or 11 at night isn't something collectors get to do without consequence.
Chapter 03
Read the law itself
This page only sketches the outline. For a complete list of your rights under this law, read it in its entirety on the Federal Trade Commission's website, which publishes the full text and explains it in more depth than we can here.
We'd rather point you at the primary source than tell you what it means for your specific situation. If you want that kind of guidance, a consumer law attorney or a housing and credit counseling nonprofit like the ones accredited through the NFCC is the right place to ask.
If collectors are calling you now
Write down who called, when, and what was said. That record is useful whether you handle it yourself or bring in help later. Keeping it calm and factual, rather than reacting in the moment, tends to serve people better either way.
If the calls are part of a wider pile of bills you're trying to get in front of, that's the kind of thing a counselor in our office talks through every day. The call to us is free, and it's a conversation about your whole situation, not just one collector.
DCAT — A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau. Call (512) 501-3955.
Where to read it
For a complete list of your rights under this law, read it in its entirety on the Federal Trade Commission’s website. It's the primary source, and it's the one we'd rather send you to than summarize it ourselves.
If the calls you're getting are one piece of a larger picture, a counselor can talk through the whole thing with you. See debt help or debt consolidation for how that conversation usually goes.
Dealing with collection calls and a pile of bills?
A counselor will go through your whole situation with you on the phone, at no cost.