Your FDCPA Rights: What Debt Collectors Can and Cannot Do

What the FDCPA is

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal law passed in 1977. Its purpose is simple: stop debt collectors from harassing, threatening, or deceiving consumers. It applies to third-party debt collectors: companies that collect debts on behalf of someone else, or buy debts and try to collect them. It generally does not apply to original creditors collecting their own debts (your credit union calling about your own loan, for example).

The law is enforced by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and was updated in 2021 by the CFPB’s Regulation F, which added rules for email, text, and social media contact. You can sue a collector who violates the FDCPA in federal court, statutory damages run up to $1,000 per case plus actual damages and attorney’s fees.

8 things debt collectors CANNOT do

If a third-party collector does any of these, they are violating federal law. Document the violation (date, time, what they said, what number they called from) and file a complaint with the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint.

1. Call you before 8am or after 9pm in your time zone.

   FDCPA §1692c(a)(1). These hours are based on where you are, not where the collector is.

2. Use abusive, obscene, or profane language.

   FDCPA §1692d(2). This includes name-calling, racial slurs, and threats of any kind.

3. Threaten you with arrest or jail.

   FDCPA §1692e(4). Unpaid consumer debt is a civil matter, not a criminal one. No one is going to arrest you for an unpaid credit card.

4. Call your employer repeatedly after being told to stop.

   FDCPA §1692c(a)(3). Collectors can’t contact you at work if you’ve told them (verbally or in writing) that your employer doesn’t allow such calls.

5. Discuss your debt with anyone other than you, your spouse, or your attorney.

   FDCPA §1692c(b). Collectors can confirm your address with a third party, but cannot disclose the existence or details of a debt to neighbors, coworkers, or family.

6. Falsely claim to be an attorney, a government agent, or law enforcement.

   FDCPA §1692e(3) and (5). Some collectors send letters that imitate court documents. Real court documents are filed by a court clerk, not mailed by a collector.

7. Add unauthorized fees, interest, or charges to your debt.

   FDCPA §1692f(1). Collectors can only add fees that are expressly authorized in your original agreement or by state law.

8. Continue contacting you after you send a written cease-communication request.

   FDCPA §1692c(c). Once you mail this letter, the collector must stop, with very narrow exceptions (one final acknowledgment, or notice that they’re suing you).

5 rights you have

The FDCPA isn’t just a list of restrictions on collectors. It gives you specific, enforceable rights.

1. The right to written validation of the debt.

   Within 5 days of first contact, the collector must send you a written notice stating the amount, the original creditor, and your right to dispute. If you dispute within 30 days, they must stop collecting until they verify.

2. The right to dispute the debt in writing within 30 days.

   Send your dispute by certified mail with return receipt. The collector cannot continue collection efforts until they send written verification.

3. The right to stop all communication.

   You can demand the collector cease contact with you entirely. They must comply, except to confirm receipt or notify you of legal action.

4. The right to refuse contact at work.

   Tell the collector (verbally is enough, but written is better) that your employer prohibits calls. They must stop calling you at work.

5. The right to sue.

   You can sue a collector in federal or state court within one year of an FDCPA violation. Statutory damages up to $1,000, plus actual damages and attorney’s fees.

How to send a cease-communication letter

Once you send this letter, the collector must stop calling, texting, emailing, and writing you about the debt, with two narrow exceptions: they can send one final letter acknowledging they’ll stop, and they can notify you if they’re suing.

Send it by certified mail with return receipt requested so you can prove they received it. Keep a copy. A simple version:

You don’t need a lawyer to send this. You don’t need to explain why. You don’t need to admit or dispute the debt. You just need to send the letter.

Why direct resolution with the original creditor avoids FDCPA concerns entirely

The FDCPA exists because third-party collectors historically had no relationship with you and no incentive to treat you fairly. The original creditor, your credit union, your bank, your card issuer, has a different incentive structure. They want to keep you as a customer if at all possible. They also generally aren’t subject to the FDCPA when collecting their own debts, because the law was written for third parties.

That means when you resolve a delinquent account directly with your original lender:

• You don’t deal with third-party collectors at all.
• The harassment risk is structurally lower, original creditors want repeat business, not lawsuits.
• Your account history stays in one place, with one institution that already has your data.
• The settlement offer comes from the actual decision-maker, not an intermediary working a contingency band.