How to stop debt collectors contacting you, and what they are not allowed to do

These rights come from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the CFPB's Regulation F. They apply to debt collectors, a term that generally covers collection agencies and debt buyers rather than the original lender collecting its own account, although several states extend similar rules to creditors.^[6][9]

The law prohibits collectors from calling you repeatedly or continuously, or engaging you in conversation, with the intent to annoy, abuse or harass you. Calls that go to voicemail count as calls.^[1][12]

Regulation F turns this into a clear rule of thumb. A collector is presumed to violate the law if it places a call to you about a particular debt more than seven times within seven days, or within seven days after having a phone conversation with you about that debt.^[1][2]

The pattern matters as well as the count: seven calls in one day could still be harassment even though it is within the weekly limit.^[1] The limits apply per debt, so a collector with several of your accounts may call more, and you can agree to more frequent calls.^[1] The call limits apply only to phone calls, not to texts or emails, which have their own rules.^[13]

Some states are stricter. In Massachusetts, under those rules, a creditor may not make more than two telephone calls or messages to a consumer's home in each seven-day period for each debt, and calls must be between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m.^[14][15]. In West Virginia, calling any person more than thirty times a week, or engaging them in telephone conversation more than ten times a week, is treated as abusive (46A-2-125(d))^[16][17].

A collector must not contact you at a time or place it knows or should know is inconvenient. Unless you agree, the law assumes that before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m. your local time is inconvenient.^[3][4]

Sundays. There is no blanket federal ban on Sunday calls, but if Sunday, or any other day or time, is inconvenient for you, for example for religious reasons or because of your work schedule, tell the collector, and it must not contact you then.^[3][5]

Work. A collector must not contact you at work if it knows or has reason to know your employer prohibits such communications.^[3] Tell the collector, ideally in writing. Massachusetts adds a twist: a spoken request not to be called at work lasts only ten days unless you confirm it in writing within seven days^[14].

Your home. Collectors may write to you and, within the time limits, call you. Any visit in person is subject to the same rules on inconvenient times and the ban on harassment, and a collector must not discuss your debt with anyone else who answers the door.^[3][4][12]

Collectors may contact you by text and email, but every electronic message must include a clear way to opt out of further messages to that email address or phone number, and you cannot be charged to opt out.^[5][10] Once you opt out, the collector must stop using that address or number.^[4][5]

On social media, a collector must not post publicly about a debt it says you owe. It may send you a private message, but must stop if you ask, and each message must include a simple way to opt out.^[6][13]

You can also tell a collector not to use any particular method at all.^[18] For example, you can say "contact me by mail only".

Regulation F clarified how collectors can use voicemails and other messages.^[19] A collector may leave a limited-content message: a voicemail that gives your name, asks you to call back, and gives a name and number to call, but does not mention the debt. Because it says nothing about a debt, it is not treated as telling a third party about it if someone else hears it.^[20]

That is why some collection voicemails are vague. If you get one, you do not have to call back by phone: you can reply in writing, or ask the caller to identify itself and confirm who it is trying to reach.^[12][20] A collector that calls without saying who it is, outside a limited-content message, may be breaking the law.^[12]

If a collector keeps calling you about someone else, tell it you are not the person it wants and ask it to stop calling your number. A collector looking for someone may contact other people only to find them, and generally only once.^[4][11] Keep a note of the calls in case they continue.^[4]

Generally, a collector can discuss your debt only with you, your spouse or your lawyer.^[3][4]

It may contact other people only to find your address, home phone number or workplace. It usually may contact each person only once, and it must never tell them you owe a debt.^[4][11] That is how collectors sometimes reach relatives: they look up people connected to you to try to locate you, but they are not allowed to discuss your debt with them.^[11]

A collector calling your employer may only confirm your location or employment, unless it is enforcing a court judgment, for example through a wage garnishment.^[3][11] If relatives or co-workers are being told about your debt, write down what was said, when and by whom.

The law bans conduct whose natural consequence is to harass, oppress or abuse you. Examples include threatening violence, using obscene or profane language, publishing lists of people who allegedly owe debts, repeated calls meant to annoy, and calling without saying who is calling.^[12]

Collectors also must not lie or mislead. Prohibited examples include falsely implying you will be arrested or imprisoned for not paying, threatening action that cannot legally be taken or is not intended, such as a lawsuit the collector does not plan to file, and misrepresenting the amount or legal status of the debt.^[21] Threatening to garnish wages that cannot legally be garnished is a violation too.^[22]

Unfair practices are banned as well, including collecting any amount, such as fees or interest, that the agreement or the law does not allow, and using a postcard to contact you about a debt.^[23] A collector must not sue or threaten to sue you to collect a time-barred debt.^[24][25]

You have several options, from lightest to strongest:

1. Limit the method. Tell the collector not to call, or not to call at work, and to use mail instead.^[18]
2. Opt out of texts and emails using the opt-out in any message.^[5]
3. Dispute the debt in writing within the validation period. The collector must stop collecting until it verifies the debt.^[24][26][27]
4. Tell the collector you have a lawyer. It must then contact your lawyer instead of you.^[3]
5. Send a cease and desist letter telling the collector to stop contacting you altogether.^[3][7]
6. If contact continues after you have asked in writing, keep a record of every call, text and letter, then report the collector to the CFPB and your state attorney general and consider talking to a consumer lawyer.^[8][28]

Put requests in writing and keep copies. A written record is the evidence you need if the collector ignores you.^[29]

If you tell a collector in writing that you want it to stop communicating with you, or that you refuse to pay, it must stop contacting you about the debt.^[3][7] The CFPB says the collector must stop if you ask it to stop all contact, regardless of the method of communication.^[7]

There are narrow exceptions. The collector may still write to tell you it is ending its efforts, or that it or the creditor may use specific remedies, such as filing a lawsuit.^[3][29]

A cease and desist letter does not cancel the debt. The CFPB warns that you could still be sued or have the debt reported to a credit bureau.^[7][29] And it does not replace a dispute: if the debt is wrong, dispute it in writing, ideally within the validation period, so the collector must verify it.^[24][26]

This sample asks the collector to stop all contact. It follows the approach of the CFPB's own "stop contacting me" sample letter.^[29] Send it by certified mail with a return receipt, and keep a copy.

If you would rather keep the collector talking to you, but only on your terms, this version limits contact to mail and stops calls at work instead.^[18][3]

It depends on what you want. Stopping all contact gives you peace, but the debt remains.^[29] If the collector believes you owe the debt, it could still take other action, such as suing.^[29]

If you think the debt is wrong, not yours, or too old, a dispute often comes first, because it makes the collector prove the debt.^[24][26] Our debt validation letter guide explains how, and our free check tells you which approach fits your situation. Every letter we prepare asks the collector to contact you by mail only.

If the debt is old, check your state's time limit before saying anything that could be read as a promise to pay.^[24][25] Our time-limit check shows the rule where you live.

Federal law is the floor. Several states add their own rules, and some apply them to original creditors as well as collectors:

• California: The Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (Civil Code section 1788 and following) applies fair-collection duties to original creditors, not just third-party collectors^[9].
• Massachusetts: The Attorney General's debt collection regulations (940 CMR 7.00) apply to creditors collecting their own debts as well as to collectors^[14][30].
• West Virginia: The West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act applies to creditors collecting their own debts, including banks, as well as to collectors (W. Va. Code 46A-2-122(d))^[17][31].
• Oregon: That Act defines "debt collector" broadly to reach original creditors collecting their own consumer debts, along with agencies and debt buyers, and gives consumers a private right to sue^[32].
• New Hampshire: The Unfair, Deceptive or Unreasonable Collection Practices Act (RSA 358-C) applies to creditors collecting their own consumer debts as well as to third-party collectors^[33][34].
• Connecticut: The Creditors' Collection Practices Act (C.G.S. 36a-645 to 36a-648) covers original creditors collecting their own debts^[35][36].
• Wisconsin: The Wisconsin Consumer Act (chapter 427) applies its debt collection rules to original creditors as well as collectors^[37][38].
• District of Columbia: The District's collection law covers original creditors, including hospitals, as well as collectors and debt buyers^[39].
• Florida: A person who breaks section 559.72 can be liable for actual damages, statutory damages of up to $1,000, court costs and reasonable attorney's fees^[40].

Our guides to all 50 states and DC cover each state's rules.

Keep a log. Note the date, time, caller, number and what was said for every contact, and keep letters, texts, emails and voicemails.^[4][29]

Report it. You can submit a complaint to the CFPB, and report collectors to the FTC and your state attorney general.^[4][28]

Sue. You can sue a collector that breaks the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act in state or federal court. You have one year from the violation. You can recover actual damages, such as lost wages or medical bills caused by the collector's conduct, and even without proving damages a court can award up to $1,000, plus attorney's fees and court costs.^[4][8] Because a collector that loses can be ordered to pay your lawyer, it is worth talking to a consumer lawyer.^[8]

Even if a court finds that a collector broke the law, you may still owe the underlying debt.^[41]