When debt collectors keep contacting you
What to do
These steps come from 2 US federal agencies: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Canada and the UK are further down. This page isn’t legal advice.
- Ask the collector for the details of the debt. The FTC says a collector has to give you the collector’s name and mailing address, who you owe and how much. The collector has to give you these details in the first contact or within 5 days.
- Hold back your personal and financial details until the collector has told you about the debt. The FTC says waiting helps you avoid scammers.
- Keep every letter, email, text and voicemail the collector sends. The CFPB says these records can help if you dispute the debt, meet a lawyer or go to court.
- Write down the date and time of each call, with notes on what was said.
- Answer the collector in a letter. The CFPB has sample letters you can use.
- Keep a copy of your letter. The FTC says to consider certified mail with a return receipt, so you have a record that the collector got the letter.
- If a collector breaks the rules below, report the collector. The steps are under "How to complain in the US".
- Ask a lawyer or a legal aid office about your own debt. The FTC points people to LawHelp.org to find a lawyer.
What a collector can’t do in the US
Threats and insults. The FTC says a collector can’t threaten to hurt you or use obscene or profane language.
Lies. The FTC says a collector can’t pretend to be a lawyer or from the government. A collector also can’t say you’ll be arrested if that isn’t true.
Calls. The FTC says a collector can’t contact you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., unless you agree. A collector can’t call more than 7 times in 7 days about one debt. Once you’ve talked by phone about that debt, the collector has to wait 7 days before calling again.
Work, email and texts. The FTC says a collector can’t contact you at work if you say you’re not allowed to get calls there. A collector can’t email or text you if you ask the collector to stop.
Other people. The FTC says a collector generally can’t discuss your debt with anyone but you or your spouse. A collector can ask other people for your address, home phone number and workplace. A collector can never tell those people that you owe a debt.
The FTC says these rules cover household debts, like credit cards, car loans, medical bills, student loans and mortgages. Business debts aren’t covered. Many states have their own debt collection laws, so ask your state attorney general’s office about your state.
Asking a collector to stop
The CFPB says you have the right to tell a debt collector to stop contacting you. To do that, write a letter that says so.
Once the collector gets your letter, the CFPB says the collector can contact you for only 2 reasons. One is to say that contact will end. The other is to say that the collector or the creditor, the company you owe, may take a legal step, such as a lawsuit.
Stopping contact doesn’t make the debt go away. The CFPB says a collector can still sue you or report the debt to a credit reporting company.
If you think the debt is wrong, send a dispute letter before any letter asking the collector to stop. The CFPB says to dispute right away. The FTC says to send your dispute letter within 30 days of getting the collector’s information. After that letter, the collector has to pause collecting until the collector sends you written proof of the debt.
The FTC also says to consider talking to the collector at least once. Talking matters most if you don’t think you owe the debt, or can’t repay right away. The CFPB says to be careful what you say. A collector keeps records too, and an apology or an admission that you owe the debt could be used against you.
If a collector sues you
The FTC says to respond by the date in the court papers. You can respond yourself or through a lawyer. If you ignore a lawsuit, the FTC says you might lose the chance to fight a court order.
How to complain in the US
- Submit a complaint to the CFPB.
- Report the collector to the FTC.
- Contact your state attorney general’s office. The FTC says that office can help you find out your rights under your state’s law.
The FTC says you can also sue a collector in a state or federal court, within 1 year of when the collector broke the law. Even if you win, you may still owe the debt. A lawyer can tell you whether suing fits your case.
In Canada
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) says the rights below apply to a federally regulated financial institution, or to anyone collecting for one. To check whether your institution is federally regulated, see the FCAC’s rights page. Your province or territory may have its own rules.
Write down. When a collector calls, the FCAC says to write down the agent’s name, the company, who the company collects for and the phone number.
Calls. The FCAC says a collector can contact you only from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday to Saturday, and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. A collector can’t contact you on holidays. A collector can’t call your cell phone unless you gave that number as a way to reach you.
Pressure. The FCAC says a collector can’t use threatening, intimidating or abusive language, or put excessive or unreasonable pressure on you.
Writing only. The FCAC says you can ask a collection agency to contact you only in writing. The FCAC suggests asking a legal advisor to send the request by registered mail.
To complain. If a federally regulated institution hired the collector, the FCAC says to complain to your financial institution. If your creditor sold your debt to a collection agency, complain to your consumer affairs office.
In the UK
Contact. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has rules for firms that collect debts. A firm can’t contact you at unreasonable times. A person who contacts you for the firm has to say who they work for and why they’re in touch. A firm can’t unfairly tell other people about your debt, or threaten to.
To complain. The FCA’s steps start with the firm. Tell the firm what happened and when, and ask the firm to put things right. Make a record of how and when you got in touch. In general, the firm has 8 weeks to give you the outcome in writing.
The Ombudsman. If you’re unhappy with the outcome, or you hear nothing in that time, the FCA says the Financial Ombudsman Service may be able to help. The service is free. Contact the Ombudsman within 6 months of the firm’s final response.
Breathing Space, in England and Wales. GOV.UK describes a scheme that lasts up to 60 days. During that time, creditors can’t contact you about the debts included. You still need to make your repayments. A debt adviser applies for you, and MoneyHelper lists free debt advisers.
Keep copies in a vault
Underlock is coming soon to the App Store. Here’s how it will work.
Underlock is a private vault app we make. You open your vault by drawing a pattern on a grid of dots. A vault is a place to keep copies, nothing more. Underlock doesn’t stop a collector, and Underlock doesn’t change the law.
Importing puts a copy of each photo in your vault. Keep the originals where they are until a lawyer or the agency handling your complaint says otherwise.
- Photograph each letter with the Camera app. The originals stay in the Photos app.
- Open Underlock.
- Draw your pattern to open your vault.
- Tap the Add button (a plus sign), then Import from Photos.
- Choose the photos.
- Keep Underlock open until the import finishes.
- When Underlock asks Remove the originals from Photos?, tap Keep.
For notes of calls, tap Add, then New note. Type the date, the time and what was said. Keep the paper letters too.
If someone else checks your phone, read When someone checks or controls your phone before you add a new app.
What Underlock does
- A copy, behind your own pattern. Photos of letters and notes of calls stay in your vault. Your vault opens with your own pattern, a shape you draw on a grid of dots, not your iPhone passcode or Face ID.
- Encrypted on your iPhone. Everything you add is encrypted on your iPhone before it’s saved. We never receive your files, your pattern or your keys.
- Asks before a file leaves. To send a copy to a lawyer, open the file, then tap Share. Underlock asks first, because a shared file leaves your vault and is no longer encrypted.
- Location stays out by default. A shared file leaves without its location. To keep the location, turn off Remove location before you share.
- Underlock doesn’t change the law. If a court or an agency asks for what you keep, ask a lawyer what to do.