Federal Trade Commission | consumer.ftc.gov

Debt Collection

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I

f you’re behind in paying your bills, or a creditor’s 

records mistakenly make it appear that you are, a 

debt collector may be contacting you.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s 

consumer protection agency, enforces the Fair Debt 

Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which prohibits 

debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive 

practices to collect from you.

Under the FDCPA, a debt collector is someone who 

regularly collects debts owed to others. This includes 

collection agencies, lawyers who collect debts on a 

regular basis, and companies that buy delinquent debts 

and then try to collect them.

Here are some questions and answers about your rights 

under the Act.

What types of debts are covered?

The Act covers personal, family, and household 

debts, including money you owe on a personal credit 

card account, an auto loan, a medical bill, and your 

mortgage. The FDCPA doesn’t cover debts you 

incurred to run a business.
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Can a debt collector contact me any time or 

any place?

No. A debt collector may not contact you at 

inconvenient times or places, such as before 8 in the 

morning or after 9 at night, unless you agree to it. And 

collectors may not contact you at work if they’re told 

(orally or in writing) that you’re not allowed to get 

calls there.

Debt collectors can contact you by phone, letter, email 

or text message to collect a debt, as long as they follow 

the rules and disclose that they are debt collectors. No 

matter how they communicate with you, it’s against 

the law for a debt collector to pretend to be someone 

else – like an attorney or government agency – or to 

harass, threaten or deceive you.

How can I stop a debt collector from 

contacting me?

If a collector contacts you about a debt, you may want 

to talk to them at least once to see if you can resolve 

the matter – even if you don’t think you owe the debt, 

can’t repay it immediately, or think that the collector 

is contacting you by mistake. If you decide after 

contacting the debt collector that you don’t want the 

collector to contact you again, tell the collector – in 

writing – to stop contacting you. Here’s how to do that:

Make a copy of your letter. Send the original by 

certified mail, and pay for a “return receipt” so you’ll 

be able to document what the collector received. Once 

the collector receives your letter, they may not contact 

you again, with two exceptions: a collector can contact 

you to tell you there will be no further contact or to 

let you know that they or the creditor intend to take 
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a specific action, like filing a lawsuit. Sending such a 

letter to a debt collector you owe money to does not 

get rid of the debt, but it should stop the contact. The 

creditor or the debt collector still can sue you to collect 

the debt.

Can a debt collector contact anyone else 

about my debt?

If an attorney is representing you about the debt, 

the debt collector must contact the attorney, rather 

than you. If you don’t have an attorney, a collector 

may contact other people – but only to find out 

your address, your home phone number, and where 

you work. Collectors usually are prohibited from 

contacting third parties more than once. Other than 

to obtain this location information about you, a debt 

collector generally is not permitted to discuss your 

debt with anyone other than you, your spouse, or your 

attorney.

What does the debt collector have to tell me 

about the debt?

Every collector must send you a written “validation 

notice” telling you how much money you owe within 

five days after they first contact you. This notice also 

must include the name of the creditor to whom you 

owe the money, and how to proceed if you don’t think 

you owe the money.

Can a debt collector keep contacting me if I 

don’t think I owe any money?

If you send the debt collector a letter stating that 

you don’t owe any or all of the money, or asking 

for verification of the debt, that collector must stop 
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contacting you. You have to send that letter within 

30 days after you receive the validation notice. But a 

collector can begin contacting you again if it sends you 

written verification of the debt, like a copy of a bill for 

the amount you owe.

What practices are off limits for debt 

collectors?

Harassment. Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, 

or abuse you or any third parties they contact. For 

example, they may not:

● use threats of violence or harm;

● publish a list of names of people who refuse 

to pay their debts (but they can give this 

information to the credit reporting companies);

● use obscene or profane language; or

● repeatedly use the phone to annoy someone.

False statements. Debt collectors may not lie when 

they are trying to collect a debt. For example, they may 

not:

● falsely claim that they are attorneys or 

government representatives;

● falsely claim that you have committed a crime;

● falsely represent that they operate or work for a 

credit reporting company;

● misrepresent the amount you owe;

● indicate that papers they send you are legal forms 

if they aren’t; or

● indicate that papers they send to you aren’t legal 

forms if they are.
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Debt collectors also are prohibited from saying 

that:

● you will be arrested if you don’t pay your debt;

● they’ll seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property 

or wages unless they are permitted by law to take 

the action and intend to do so; or

● legal action will be taken against you, if doing so 

would be illegal or if they don’t intend to take the 

action.

Debt collectors may not:

● give false credit information about you to 

anyone, including a credit reporting company;

● send you anything that looks like an official 

document from a court or government agency if 

it isn’t; or

● use a false company name.

Unfair practices. Debt collectors may not engage in 

unfair practices when they try to collect a debt. For 

example, they may not:

● try to collect any interest, fee, or other charge on 

top of the amount you owe unless the contract 

that created your debt – or your state law – 

allows the charge;

● deposit a post-dated check early;

● take or threaten to take your property unless it 

can be done legally; or

● contact you by postcard.
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Can I control which debts my payments 

apply to?

Yes. If a debt collector is trying to collect more than 

one debt from you, the collector must apply any 

payment you make to the debt you select. Equally 

important, a debt collector may not apply a payment to 

a debt you don’t think you owe.

Can a debt collector garnish my bank 

account or my wages?

If you don’t pay a debt, a creditor or its debt collector 

generally can sue you to collect. If they win, the court 

will enter a judgment against you. The judgment states 

the amount of money you owe, and allows the creditor 

or collector to get a garnishment order against you, 

directing a third party, like your bank, to turn over 

funds from your account to pay the debt.

Wage garnishment happens when your employer 

withholds part of your compensation to pay your debts. 

Your wages usually can be garnished only as the result 

of a court order. Don’t ignore a lawsuit summons. 

If you do, you lose the opportunity to fight a wage 

garnishment.

Can federal benefits be garnished?

Many federal benefits are exempt from garnishment, 

including:

● Social Security Benefits

● Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Benefits

● Veterans’ Benefits

● Civil Service and Federal Retirement and 

Disability Benefits
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● Military Annuities and Survivors’ Benefits

● Federal Emergency Management Agency Federal 

Disaster Assistance

Federal benefits may be garnished under certain 

circumstances, including to pay delinquent taxes, 

alimony, child support, or student loans.

Do I have any recourse if I think a debt 

collector has violated the law?

You have the right to sue a collector in a state or 

federal court within one year from the date the law 

was violated. If you win, the judge can require the 

collector to pay you for any damages you can prove 

you suffered because of the illegal collection practices, 

like lost wages and medical bills. The judge can 

require the debt collector to pay you up to $1,000, even 

if you can’t prove that you suffered actual damages. 

You also can be reimbursed for your attorney’s fees 

and court costs. A group of people also may sue a debt 

collector as part of a class action lawsuit and recover 

money for damages up to $500,000, or one percent of 

the collector’s net worth, whichever amount is lower. 

Even if a debt collector violates the FDCPA in trying 

to collect a debt, the debt does not go away if you owe 

it.

What should I do if a debt collector sues me?

If a debt collector files a lawsuit against you to collect 

a debt, respond to the lawsuit, either personally or 

through your lawyer, by the date specified in the court 

papers to preserve your rights.
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Where do I report a debt collector for an 

alleged violation?

Report any problems you have with a debt collector 

to your state Attorney General’s office (naag.org), 

the Federal Trade Commission (ftc.gov), and 

the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 

(consumerfinance.gov). Many states have their own 

debt collection laws that are different from the federal 

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Your Attorney 

General’s office can help you determine your rights 

under your state’s law.

For More Information

To learn more about credit-related issues, visit 

MyMoney.gov, the U.S. government’s portal to 

financial education.

The FTC works to prevent fraudulent, deceptive 

and unfair business practices in the marketplace 

and to provide information to help consumers spot, 

stop and avoid them. To file a complaint or get free 

information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call 

toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); TTY: 

1-866-653-4261. 

Watch a video, How to File a Complaint, at 

consumer.ftc.gov/media to learn more. The FTC 

enters consumer complaints into the Consumer 

Sentinel Network, a secure online database and 

investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and 

criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and 

abroad. 

Federal Trade Commission

consumer.ftc.gov

May 2015