Debt Collector Calling You? Know Your Rights

When They Can Call, and How Often

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a collector generally cannot call you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. your time. They also cannot call so much that it turns into harassment. The law does not name a daily limit. It bans calling over and over to annoy, abuse, or harass you.

The CFPB's collection rule adds a number you can hold onto. A collector is presumed to be in the clear if it calls you no more than seven times about one debt in a seven day stretch, and then leaves you alone for seven days after it actually talks to you about that debt. Going past that is not automatically against the law. It does mean they lose that cover and the question becomes whether they were trying to wear you down.

They also cannot call you at work if they know your boss does not allow it. And once you tell them how you want to be contacted, they have to respect it. That includes telling them to stop calling entirely.

How the Calls Usually Play Out

1. You fall behind and the account goes to a collector. Could be an in-house team, an outside agency, or a buyer who now owns it. Original creditors vs. collectors helps you tell which.
2. A letter usually shows up around the same time the calls start. See debt collection letters for what it has to say.
3. The calls pick up for a few weeks. If you never answer, they may slow down or turn into settlement offers.
4. Ask for the debt in writing inside the window and the calls are supposed to stop until they send proof.
5. If nothing gets resolved, the account can be sold and the whole thing starts over under a new name. That is zombie debt.

Things They Are Not Allowed to Do

Read debt collector harassment for how to report it. If the call feels off in the first place, check debt collection scams.

What to Say When You Pick Up

You do not have to talk about the debt at all. Most of the time you are better off not doing it on the phone, because nothing said out loud is easy to prove later. Keep these lines handy:

• To find out who they are: "What is your company name, your mailing address, and who did I originally owe on this account?"
• To keep it off the phone: "I am not discussing this by phone. Send me written proof of this debt at my address."
• To stop calls at work: "I cannot take personal calls at this number. Do not call me here again."
• To get off the call: "I am hanging up now. Put it in writing."

How to Make the Calls Stop

1. Write to them. Tell them to contact you in writing only, or to stop contacting you at all.
2. Keep a copy and send it certified mail with a return receipt. Now you can prove what you sent and when they got it.
3. If the calls keep coming, write down each one. Date, time, who called, what they said. That log is what backs up a complaint or a claim for damages.

For the stronger version of that letter, see cease and desist letters. Just know that quiet is not the same as gone. The debt can still hit your credit report or end up in court. See debt lawsuits.