Debt Collection Laws: Communication
- Adhering to debt collection laws, A debt collector may communicate with you by mail, in person, or telephone.
- Debt collectors cannot contact you at times or in places they know are inconvenient to you, such as at work if your employer does not permit it or during daytime sleep hours if you work nights. A debt collector cannot contact you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
- Stopping communications according to debt collection laws, if you send a written request to a debt collector demanding that they stop contacting you, the debt collector must stop contact immediately. But they may send one last communication advising you that they intend to take specific action against you, including filing a lawsuit.
- There are debt collection laws surrounding attorney representation. Suppose you are represented by an attorney concerning a consumer debt (e.g., a consumer rights attorney such as our office, a bankruptcy attorney, or a family attorney). In that case, the debt collector cannot communicate directly with you, only through your lawyer.
- Debt collection agencies cannot contact any third party about your debt. This means that they cannot call your mom, dad, brother, granddaughter, coworkers, or your neighbor about the debt. Debt collectors are not allowed to tell anyone but you and your attorney that you owe anyone else money.
- A debt collector has a right to contact other people once, and only once, to locate you. Debt collectors are not permitted to ask neighbors to bring you phone messages, ask you to come across the street for a phone call, or tell other people that they are attempting to collect a debt from you.
Information About Collecting Debt
- 30-Day Validation Notice Requirements. Within five days after you are first contacted, a debt collector must send you a written notice telling you the following:
- The amount of the debt.
- The name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed.
- A statement that unless you, within thirty days after receipt of the notice, dispute the validity of the debt, or any portion of it, the debt will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector.
- A statement that if you notify the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period, that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, the debt collector will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against you and a copy of such verification or judgment will be mailed to the consumer by the debt collector.
- A statement that, upon the consumer’s written request within the thirty-day period, the debt collector will provide the consumer with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor.
- Finally, a statement that the communication is from a debt collector attempting to collect a debt and that any information obtained will be used for that purpose.
- Every debt collector who tries to collect your debt must provide their own 30-day validation notice, even if a previous debt collector has already given such notice.
- Rights while debt under dispute. If you dispute a debt in writing within the 30-day validation period, a debt collector cannot continue to collect on the debt until they have sent you proof of the debt or a copy of the judgment.