General Rule: If a debt collector is calling you repeatedly you can stop them by sending a cease-and-desist letter. If they violate the FDCPA you can sue them or report them to certain federal agencies.
Debt collectors often act aggressively to get you to pay a debt. One often-used tactic is to call you repeatedly in an attempt to coerce you to make a payment. While a debt collector can contact you, there are restrictions on how often they can contact you.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) provides these restrictions. The FDCPA protects consumers from abusive, deceptive and harassing debt collection behavior. This includes how often a debt collector may contact you.
When is a debt collector calling too much and how can I stop them? In the following sections, you will learn the answer to this question and more.
How Often Can a Debt Collector Call Me?
Sometimes a debt collector will call you repeatedly in an attempt to collect a debt. The reason is because they are eager to get you to make a payment. Oftentimes, how effective a debt collector can collect on a debt determines how successful they are. However, sometimes a debt collector will call you excessively in an attempt to harass you into making a payment.
For this reason, the FDCPA regulates how often a debt collector can call you. Under this law, 8 calls or more in seven days is a violation. It is also a violation if they contact you within seven days of when they had a conversation with you about your debt.
These are specific rules, however, there are other ways repeated calls may violate the FDCPA. For instance, if a collection agency calls you 3 times a day for two straight days, this likely is a violation.
How the FDCPA Regulates Harassment
The FDCPA regulates harassment in a variety of ways. Harassment is often used as a tactic to coerce and wear down consumers into making a payment. As a result, the FDCPA outlines several different ways harassment is illegal.
Many of the ways the FDCPA regulates harassment is in the way a debt collector communicates with you, including on the phone. As a result, the FDCPA regulates how often a debt collector can call you, what time and where they can call.
In addition, the FDCPA regulates how they can speak to you. This includes the use of threats and obscene language. The one caveat to the protections of the FDCPA is that it only regulates third-party debt collectors. These protections are not extended to the original creditor who loaned the money.
How Do I Stop Repeated Calls From a Collection Agency?
If a debt collector is calling you repeatedly, there are ways to stop them. The quickest way to stop repeated calls is by sending the debt collector a cease-and-desist letter. This letter instructs the debt collector to completely stop contacting you. The debt collector must stop all communication if they receive this type of letter.
However, if you have a valid debt you still have a responsibility to pay it. If the debt is not yours you will also want to dispute it. Under the FDCPA you have 30 days to dispute a debt from when you received their validation notice.
If the cease-and-desist letter does not stop the repeated calls, you have other options. You can do the following:
- Notify an Appropriate Federal Agency. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforces the FDCPA. One option is to submit a complaint to this federal agency. You can also file a consumer complaint about the debt collector to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
- Sue for Injunctive Relief. You can sue a debt collector in court to get a court to stop the repeated calls. If they violated the FDCPA a court may also award you statutory damages (up to $1,000) and compensate you for any losses you suffer.
If you have proof of the violation, a debt collector may be open to negotiating a favorable settlement of your debt. You may receive a greater discount if you are willing to accept a settlement instead of taking legal action.
Conclusion
You now should understand how often a debt collector can call you before it becomes an issue. You also have the tools to put a stop to repeated calls from a debt collector.
However, you may have questions about your case and what action will be most effective for you. You can get your answers to these questions by contacting a consumer rights attorney. They can even represent you if you decide to take legal action against a debt collector.
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