How to Handle Debt Collectors: Your Rights and Next Steps

When a debt collector contacts you, do not pay and do not ignore it. First get the written details of the debt, check that it is really yours, and use your rights under federal law to dispute anything that looks wrong. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) bans abusive, unfair and deceptive collection practices ^[1]. Its rule, Regulation F, limits when and how often collectors can reach you and sets what they must tell you ^[2][3][4]. You can also stop most contact in writing, and you can report a collector who breaks the rules.

Who counts as a debt collector

A debt collector is generally a person or business that regularly collects debts owed to someone else, or whose main business is collecting debts. That includes collection agencies, lawyers who collect debts, and debt buyers, which buy overdue accounts and then try to collect them ^[5]. The FDCPA covers personal and household debts such as credit cards, car loans, medical bills, student loans and mortgages, but not business debts ^[1].

Your rights on contact

When and where collectors can reach you

• Hours. Unless the collector knows otherwise, it must treat any time before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. in your local time as inconvenient ^[2]. You can agree to other times ^[1].
• Inconvenient times you name. If you tell a collector that a time is inconvenient, it should not contact you then. You do not have to use any special wording ^[2].
• Work. A collector cannot contact you at work if you tell it you are not allowed to take those calls there ^[1].
• Email, text and social media. Collectors may use these channels, but they must stop using email or text if you ask, and they cannot send you private social media messages after you tell them to stop ^[1].

The 7-in-7 call rule

Regulation F sets a call limit for each debt. A collector is presumed to follow the law if it calls you about a particular debt no more than seven times in seven days in a row, and does not call again within seven days after it has spoken with you by phone about that debt ^[3]. Going past either limit is presumed to break the rule against harassing calls ^[3].

Two details matter. The limit applies per debt, so a collector handling three of your accounts could call more often overall. And staying within the limit is not a free pass: calls combined with a flood of emails can still add up to harassment ^[3].

Who else they can talk to

A collector can usually discuss your debt only with you or your spouse, or with your attorney if you have one ^[1]. It may contact other people to find your address, phone number or workplace. It usually may reach each of those people just once, and it may not reveal to them that you have a debt ^[1].

What collectors cannot do

Collectors cannot threaten violence, use obscene language, lie about the amount you owe, pretend to be a lawyer or a government official, or threaten arrest or a lawsuit they do not plan to bring ^[1]. They also cannot add interest or fees your contract or state law does not allow, deposit a post-dated check early, or reveal your debt on a postcard or envelope ^[1].

The validation notice: what you must be told

A collector must give you "validation information" about the debt, either in its first contact or within five days after it ^[1][6]. This must include:

• the collector's name and mailing address
• the name of the creditor
• how much you owe, broken down to show interest, fees, payments and credits
• what to do if you think the debt is not yours
• your rights, including the right to ask for the original creditor's name and address ^[1]

The notice also sets a deadline called the validation period. It starts when the collector sends the information and ends 30 days after you receive it. For figuring the end date, the collector may assume you received it five days after sending, not counting weekends and federal holidays ^[4]. The notice must state the end date ^[4].

How to verify a debt

Start by deciding whether the caller is a real collector. A legitimate collector can give its name, company name, street address, phone number and, if your state licenses collectors, a license number. You can check those details with your state attorney general or state regulator ^[7]. Warning signs of a scam include threats, refusing to give a mailing address, refusing to give details about the debt, threats of criminal charges and requests for your personal financial information ^[7].

The FTC suggests talking to the collector at least once, even if you think you do not owe the money, so you can learn more about the debt. Until you have the validation information, or already know the collector, do not share personal or financial details ^[1].

Then compare the notice with your own records:

1. Do you recognize the original creditor and account number?
2. Does the amount match your last statement, after interest and fees?
3. When did you last make a payment? This date matters for the statute of limitations.
4. Have you already paid or settled this debt?

How to dispute a debt

If anything is wrong, or you do not recognize the debt, send a written dispute within the validation period. Say that you owe none or part of the money and ask for verification ^[1]. You can also ask for the original creditor's name and address ^[6].

Once a collector receives a timely written dispute, it must stop collecting the debt, or the part you dispute, until it mails you verification, such as a copy of the original bill or a court judgment ^[6][1]. During the validation period, the collector also may not act in ways that overshadow or contradict your right to dispute ^[8]. A dispute counts as written if you mail it, return the dispute form that comes with the validation notice, deliver it in person, or send it electronically through a channel the collector accepts, such as its email or website ^[8].

If you do not dispute within the period, the collector may assume the debt is valid ^[1]. That assumption is not a legal admission. A court cannot treat your silence as proof that you owe the debt ^[6].

Sample steps

1. Write down the call. Note the date, time, collector's name, company and what was said.
2. Ask for the validation notice if you have not received it, and do not pay until you have it.
3. Find the end date of the validation period on the notice and put it in your calendar.
4. Write your dispute letter. Include your name, address, the account or reference number, a plain statement that you dispute the debt (all or part), and a request for verification and the original creditor's name and address. Do not admit you owe it.
5. Send it in a way you can prove. Certified mail with a return receipt gives you a record that the collector got it ^[1]. Keep a copy.
6. Wait for verification. Collection on the disputed amount should pause until the collector responds ^[6].
7. To stop contact, send a letter asking the collector to stop. After that, it may contact you only to confirm it will stop or to tell you about a specific action, such as filing a lawsuit ^[1]. Stopping contact does not cancel the debt, and the collector may still sue or report it to a credit bureau ^[5].

If the debt is yours, you can choose which debt a payment goes to when a collector handles more than one, and a collector cannot apply a payment to a debt you say you do not owe ^[1]. If you settle for less, get the agreement in writing first, stating that the payment settles the whole debt ^[1].

Old debts and the statute of limitations

A statute of limitations is the time limit for suing to collect a debt. In most states it runs three to six years, though some are longer, and it can depend on the type of debt, where you live and the state law named in your contract ^[9]. Some debts, such as federal student loans, have no limit ^[9]. In some states the clock starts when you miss a required payment; in others it starts from your last payment ^[9].

Once the limit passes, the debt is "time-barred." A collector must not sue you or threaten to sue over a time-barred debt ^[10]. In most states, it may still ask you to pay by letter or phone, as long as it follows the law ^[9]. Some state laws ban contact about time-barred debt altogether ^[1].

Be careful with small payments. A partial payment, or even admitting you owe an old debt, may restart the clock in some states ^[9][1]. And past-due debt can generally stay on your credit report for seven years, whether or not it is time-barred ^[1].

If you are sued on an old debt, the court will not raise the time limit for you. You usually have to show up and argue that the statute of limitations has run, or a judge may still rule against you ^[9].

If a collector sues you

Respond to the court papers by the deadline they give, yourself or through a lawyer ^[11]. Responding is not the same as admitting you owe the money, and it makes the collector prove the debt is valid ^[11]. If you do not respond, the court may enter a default judgment. Depending on state law, that can let the creditor garnish your wages, put a lien on your property or freeze your bank account ^[11]. Many federal benefits, such as Social Security, are generally protected from garnishment, with some exceptions ^[1].

How to complain about a collector

You can report problems to three places ^[1]:

For a CFPB complaint, describe the problem briefly in your own words with key dates and amounts, and attach supporting documents, up to 50 pages ^[12]. You generally cannot file a second complaint about the same problem, so include everything the first time ^[12].

You can also sue a collector that breaks the FDCPA, in state or federal court, within one year of the violation. If you cannot prove actual losses, a judge can still award up to $1,000 plus attorney's fees and court costs. You may still owe the underlying debt ^[1].

When to get professional help

Talk to a lawyer if you are sued, if you think the debt is time-barred, or if a collector's conduct has cost you money. Some attorneys offer free or reduced-fee help, and legal aid offices may help for free if you qualify ^[11]. A lawyer who handles FDCPA cases can explain both federal and state protections ^[11].

Your next step

Find the most recent letter from the collector, or ask for the validation notice if you have not received one. Circle the validation period end date, compare the amount and creditor with your own records, and if anything is wrong or unfamiliar, mail a written dispute by certified mail before that date. Keep a folder with every letter, receipt and call note in case you need to file a complaint later.