Recognizing Debt Collection Abuse

How may a debt collector contact you?

A debt collector may contact you in person, or by mail, telephone, telegram, or fax.  A debt collector may NOT contact you by postcard.   Most debt collection contacts occur by telephone. 

When the debt collector first contacts you, you have important rights to notice of the debt and to dispute the debt. 

When may a debt collector call you?

A debt collector may telephone you at times that are not inconvenient.  Usually, this means that a debt collector may call between 8 AM and 9 PM.  However, if you have special circumstances (for example, you work at  night and sleep during the day) those hours may be different.

How often can a debt collector call you?

That depends.  Under the FDCPA, a debt collector may not call any person repeatedly or continuously with the intent to annoy, abuse, or harass them.  In practice, though, it can be difficult to determine whether and when a debt collector has crossed this line.  According to the Federal Trade Commission, a debt collector may almost certainly call you more than once, but six calls per day is probably too many.  Between these extremes, it depends on the facts of your particular case.

Can a debt collector call your employer, friends or family?

Yes, under certain limited circumstances.  A debt collector may contact any person for the purpose of correcting or confirming your contact information.  However, the debt collector may NOT identify himself as a debt collector or tell the person that you owe a debt.  Also, the debt collector may NOT call the person more than once (unless the person asks the debt collector to call again or the debt collector reasonably believes that the person gave wrong or incomplete information but now has correct information).