Covered collectors
The FDCPA applies to debt collectors as the statute defines them. Many third-party collectors are covered. An original creditor collecting its own debt often is not. We start by asking who is calling, and in whose name.
Steketee Law Firm · Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
15 U.S.C. § 1692
Collection has rules. Some collectors ignore them.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act limits how covered debt collectors may pursue consumer debts: what they may say, whom they may tell, and how they may behave. A rude phone call is not automatically a lawsuit. A pattern of false statements often is worth a lawyer’s look.
Harassment and abuse
Repeated calls meant to annoy, threats, and abusive language. A log — date, time, number, and what was said — is more useful than a general memory of being hounded.
False or misleading statements
The amount is wrong. The caller claims to be something they are not. You are told a lawsuit has been filed when it has not. Misstatements about the debt are a core FDCPA problem.
The wrong person
Calls to a relative, an employer, or someone who does not owe the debt, beyond what the statute allows. Those conversations are evidence. Write down who was contacted.
Missing disclosures
Collectors have required things to say and send, including validation rights in the time the statute sets. A letter that skips them belongs in the file, envelope included if you still have it.
The debt and the report
Collection and credit reporting often travel together. An FDCPA problem and an FCRA problem can come out of the same account. The firm reads both statutes against the same documents.
Keep these
- Letters, texts, and emails, with envelopes and headers
- Voicemails
- A call log with dates and what was threatened or promised
- Anything that states the amount, the creditor, or a lawsuit
- Credit reports showing the same account
What the statute can provide
In a successful case, the FDCPA can allow actual damages, statutory damages up to the cap the statute sets, and attorney’s fees. The cap is not a promise, and not every unpleasant call qualifies.