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Author: Sergei Lemberg
Can a Debt Collector Call Me on a Sunday?
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Owing a debt can be a stressful ordeal. This is only compounded if you are dealing with a debt collector who is calling you incessantly and at inconvenient times. While a collection agency can contact you on a Sunday, you can stop them.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) ensures that a debt collector cannot call you whenever they want. While a collection agency is free to call you on a Sunday, there are things you can do to stop them.
If a collection agency is contacting you on Sundays or other inconvenient times, it’s important to know your rights. Below you will find information about your rights and protections under the FDCPA when a debt collector makes these unwanted calls.
When Can a Debt Collector Call Me?
A major goal of the FDCPA is to protect the consumer against various forms of harassment and unfair treatment. To prevent this type of behavior, the FDCPA provides ground rules for when a collection agency can contact you. One protection of the FDCPA is prohibiting debt collectors from contacting a consumer at any time considered inconvenient. This general prohibition applies to any time a collection agency knows or should know is inconvenient for a particular consumer.
A specific restriction is that a debt collector can only call you between the hours of 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM. In addition, debt collectors may not call you repeatedly on any given day. However, collection agency are not explicitly restricted from calling you on any specific day.
So, yes, a debt collector may call you on Sunday. However, the FDCPA is an empowering law for those who know how to use it. Sunday is a day, for many different reasons, that a person may not want any contact with a debt collector.
If a collection agency knows you work on Sunday, have family commitments, or it is otherwise a bad time to talk, they cannot contact you. To do so would be a violation of the FDCPA.
Debt collectors may contact you on Sunday. To stop them you should let them know that Sunday is not a good time to call you. Ideally, you should send this notice to them in writing and keep a copy for your records. If you tell them verbally, make sure you take notes of the following:
- Date and time you notified the debt collector
- The person you spoke with
- The specific information you provided to the collection agency
Many times, respectfully communicating your situation is all that you need to do to stop receiving calls on Sunday or any other inconvenient time.
I Told A Debt Collector to Stop Calling Me but They Still Call, What Can I Do?
So you’ve told a collection agency that Sunday is an inconvenient time for you and you asked them to stop calling you. Unfortunately, they have continued to call you every Sunday. What can you do?
The first thing you do is to make sure you document these violations. That means saving copies of any voicemails as well as taking notes on the various instances when they have called you on a Sunday.
To stop these inconvenient communications here are some options you can consider
- Sending the debt collector a cease and desist letter. While you can make the same demand over the phone, a letter is a better way to document your demand for a debt collector to stop contacting you. Once you send this letter, under the FDCPA they must stop contacting you.
- Sending a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Both of these agencies are responsible for enforcing federal debt collection laws such as the FDCPA.
- Filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
- Contacting your State Attorney General’s Office for any potential state violations
- Hiring an Attorney. In addition to protecting your rights, having an attorney represent you should prevent any future calls from a pesky debt collector.
- Filing a Lawsuit. If you have evidence that they are ignoring your requests about contact on Sunday, you can bring a lawsuit against the debt collector for a violation of the FDCPA. This can stop the collection agency from calling you on Sunday and they may even have to pay you damages for their violations.
Debt collectors may be ruthless, but most of them will back off if you take any of these actions. Depending on the severity of the situation or your comfort level, you can choose the option that works best for you.
Conclusion
Like any law, the FDCPA consists of various requirements and exceptions. The debt collector may be guilty of more violations than calling on Sunday when you told them not to. Or, you may find out the debt is not even valid.
To make sure you are fully protected under the FDCPA, consider contacting an attorney who specializes in consumer rights laws. They can help you navigate your situation and make sure you get the relief and protection you deserve.
While you may owe money, you deserve debt collection agencies to treat you with dignity, respect and courtesy in resolving the matter.
Additional Resources
About the author:
Sergei Lemberg is a consumer rights attorney, practicing since 2006, whose practice focuses on consumer law, class actions and personal injury litigation. He is known for a United States Supreme Court case (Facebook v. Duguid) defending consumers from autodialers under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 to send unsolicited text messages. He is also the author of Defanging Debt Collectors, a book that teaches consumers how to battle debt collectors and win.
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