The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

When a person, store, doctor, bank, or someone else says you owe them money, they will sometimes have debt collectors try to get you to pay back the money they claim you owe. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) protects you from abuse, harassment, threats, and lies when debt collectors call or write to you or others about a debt they claim you owe. 

The FDCPA applies when someone is trying to collect money you owe for personal or household reasons.

This can include credit cards, medical bills, car loans, rent, or utilities. It usually applies after you have not paid a bill and it is sent to a debt collector.

Who and what does the FDCPA cover?

The FDCPA protects you, your spouse, your parents (if you are a minor child), or others responsible for your debts (guardians, executors, and administrators) from unfair practices by debt collectors. The FDCPA covers actions by a debt collector before, during, or after a court case about debt.

15 U.S.C. § 1692c(d)

“Debt collectors” are businesses or people who use the phone, mail, and other methods in a business to collect debts owed or claimed to be owed.

Debt collectors do not include creditors (people you owe money to) who collect their own debts, unless a creditor uses a name other than their own to make you think someone else is trying to collect a debt. For example, if you owe someone money and they pretend to be an attorney or law firm to collect the money you owe, they are a debt collector and you have rights under the FDCPA.

15 U.S.C. § 1692(a)

Protections under the FDCPA

There are limits on how a debt collector can write or talk to you about a debt.

Where and when debt collectors can communicate

Unless you agree or a court says it is okay, a debt collector generally may not write or talk to you about collecting a debt if they know you have an attorney.

They also may not communicate with you:

  • At times or places that are not good for you. The law says calling before 8 am or after 9 pm is usually not okay. Debt collectors can only call at those times if you say it’s allowed.
  • At work, if they know your employer does not allow these kinds of calls. You also have the right to tell the debt collector not to call you at work. Once you tell them, they must stop.

Who debt collectors can contact

A debt collector cannot write or call anyone about your debt except for you, your attorney, a consumer reporting agency, the creditor, the creditor’s attorney, or the debt collector’s attorney.

This means that:

  • The debt collector cannot talk about your debt to your family members, friends, neighbors, co-workers, or others. 
  • If the debt collector knows you have an attorney dealing with the debt, the debt collector must only talk to you through your attorney.
15 U.S.C. § 1692c(b)

When debt collectors must stop communicating

If you write to a debt collector to say you refuse to pay a debt or want the debt collector to stop calling or writing to you, the debt collector must stop calling or writing to you about the debt.

The debt collector can then only write or call you to tell you:

  • they are stopping their efforts to collect the debt; or
  • they or the creditor are asking for a legal remedy they have.
15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c)

How debt collectors can communicate

A debt collector may not harass, annoy, or abuse anyone while trying to collect a debt.

For example, a debt collector cannot:

  • Use threats of violence to harm you, your reputation, or your property.

  • Swear at you or use obscene language.

  • Post your name online or publish it in a newspaper for not paying debts.

  • Publicly advertise that your debt is for sale to pressure you to pay it.

  • Call you repeatedly to annoy, abuse, or harass you.

  • Call you without telling you who they are.

15 U.S.C. § 1692d

A debt collector cannot say anything false, deceptive, or misleading to collect any debt.

For example, a debt collector cannot:

  • Lie about the amount of a debt, or their work or payment to collect it. They must tell you right away that they are trying to collect a debt.

  • Conceal the real name of their business or company. They cannot lie and say they are an attorney or that any communication is from an attorney. They cannot suggest they are from the government or use a badge or uniform to make you think they are.

  • Lie to try to collect a debt or get information from you. They cannot say anything false about the legal process or documents for collecting a debt, suggest that you could be arrested or go to jail for not paying a debt, or threaten to do anything illegal to you or to do anything else they do not plan to do.

  • Say or threaten to say anything false about a debt you owe to anyone else. This includes not telling credit agencies when you dispute a debt.

15 U.S.C. § 1692d

A debt collector cannot do things that are unfair or unjust to collect or attempt to collect any debt.

For example, a debt collector cannot:

  • Collect money, including interest, fees, and other charges, not in the original agreement you had with the creditor.

  • Cause charges to any person for communications, like collect telephone calls or certified mailed letters, by hiding the reason for the telephone call or letter.

  • Do anything out of court to take or stop you from using your property if they have no right to claim the property through a security interest, they do not plan to take possession of the property, or the property is exempt by law from acts to repossess it or stop you from using it.

  • Use any language or symbol, other than the debt collector’s address, on any envelope sent through the mail, except that a debt collector may use their business name if that name does not indicate that they are in the debt collection business.

15 U.S.C. § 1692d

You should not postdate checks or other payments to debt collectors. If a debt collector asks you to postdate a check or other payment, there are rules.

The rules are that a debt collector cannot:

  • Deposit a check postdated by more than five (5) days unless they give notice in writing 3-10 days before the deposit date.
  • Deposit or threaten to deposit any postdated check before the date on the check.
15 U.S.C. § 1692f

Your rights

Within five days after the first communication with you, a debt collector must send you a written notice.

The written notice must include:

  • The amount of the debt.
  • The name of the person they claim you owe money to.
  • You can dispute the debt or any part of it within 30 days.
  • If you dispute the debt or any part of it, the debt collector will make sure the debt is real or get a copy of a court judgment against you and mail you the proof or judgment; and
  • If you write to request it within 30 days, the debt collector will give you the name and address of the original creditor.
15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a)

If you tell a debt collector in writing within 30 days of receiving notice of a debt that you disagree with any part of a debt or request the name and address of the original creditor, the debt collector must stop collecting the debt.

They can only restart collecting if they get proof the debt is real or a copy of a court judgment, or the name and address of the original creditor, and mail it to you. Even if you do not disagree with a debt in writing within 30 days, you can still dispute you owe it later.

15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b)

How to enforce your rights

If you want a debt collector to stop calling or writing to you, you can write to them and tell them to stop contacting you. Debt collectors must stop contacting you when you ask them to.

If a debt collector violates your rights under the FDCPA, you can file a civil case against them in state or federal court. You have one year after an FDCPA violation to file a court case.

In a court case, you can ask for your money back and a penalty of up to $1,000 for an FDCPA violation. A court will not give you money back if the debt collector made a mistake or did something wrong by accident.

Besides going to court, you can also file a complaint to report a debt collector to government offices if you think they violated your rights.

The state and federal offices that review complaints about debt collectors are:

Arizona Attorney General
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Federal Trade Commission

This topic can be complicated. You may want to talk to a legal professional for help.

This website shares general legal information. Some content may be simplified or may not reflect recent changes in law. If you need advice for your specific situation, you should talk to a legal professional.

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This content was last updated on Oct 1, 2025.