Can a Debt Collector Contact Me about my Credit Card Debt?
Yes. A debt collector or collection agency is entitled to contact you by mail, in person and/or telephone and even via fax. However, they may not contact you by postcard. Today the majority of contact is made via telephone.
The “3 Minute Budget”
50% Needs
30% Wants
20% Savings
*Please Note: Just because a debt collector is permitted to contact you, there are still many laws and protections that a debtor may use. The most powerful of these legal rights is the FDCPA or Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The FDCPA allows for a debtor to dispute the Credit Card debt and to seek verification of the Credit Card debt, amongst other rights. Additionally, the FDCPA requires a debt collector to furnish certain legal notices, even if they choose to use telephone to contact you. Be sure to check if the FDCPA was followed and MOST IMPORTANTLY, learn to recognize any ABUSIVE COLLECTION TACTICS. The FDCPA does provide for certain limitations on contact and it is imperative you check that the debt collector has complied accordingly so that you reserve your legal rights.
Do any restrictions exist that govern when a Debt Collector may contact you?
The key is convenience. In other words, a debt collector is permitted to contact you from 8AM to 9PM respectively. However, if you have special circumstances for example, you work night shift and sleep during the day, the 8AM to 9PM window span may not be convenient to you and thus the hours to contact you can change. In summary, generally the window to contact you for Credit Card debt is 8AM to 9PM.
Can a Debt Collector call you continuously?
Pursuant to the FDCPA, a debt collector may NOT contact you repeatedly if their intent is to harass, embarrass, abuse or annoy you. In reality though, proving abuse will turn on the case specific facts, not your feelings. This is because determining when contact has turned to abuse is fact specific. An attorney qualified to handle FDCPA matters and Credit Card debt abuses, should be able to identify any abuses.
*Please Note: According to the Fair Trade Commission or FTC, a debt collector may call up to six (6) times in one day, and anything more may be an abuse of collection practices. Ultimately the case facts will determine your rights, obligations and duties and whether there has been collection abuse under the FDCPA.
If you have a job, can a Debt Collector contact you about Credit Card Debt at work?
No, if the Debt Collector has any reason to believe your employer does not allow you to make or receive private matter calls. Many people’s employers do not allow them to take personal phone calls. If that is true in your case, inform the debt collector immediately.
Can a Credit Card debt collector call my employer, family members or friends?
Yes, but specifically under limited circumstances:
A Credit Card debt collector is permitted to contact your employer, family and friends, BUT ONLY to confirm your contact information.
On the other hand, the debt collector may NOT identify themself as a debt collector or tell the contacted party that you owe money on your Credit Card or other debt.
Also, the debt collector is NOT allowed to call your employer, family or friends more than once.
If the debt collector KNOWS your accurate contact information, they may NOT contact your employer, family or friends. Doing so is a violation of the Fair Debtor Creditor Practices Act (“FDCPA”).
Additionally, if the debt collector is on notice that you are represented by an attorney and law firm, they cannot contact any third-party.
Finally, as a rule the debt collector may NEVER discuss your debt with any third-party.
Can a debt collector contact me if I am represented by an attorney?
No. Pursuant to the FDCPA, if the debt collector is aware that you are represented by an attorney, he or she may NOT contact you directly.
What are examples of a debt collector violating the FDCPA?
- Any threats, harassment or misleading statements to make you pay the debt.
- Threatening to have you arrested and or jailed.
- Threatening to take or garnish EXEMPT assets, for example social security income, disability income and or life insurance, to name a few exempt assets from debt collection.
What other ways can I stop a debt collector from contacting me?
As discussed elsewhere in this website, you are permitted to send a letter known as a CEASE LETTER to the debt collector. Remember to send it certified and with a tracking number.
The letter is simple; You can refuse to pay the debt, and that you demand they stop contacting you, or both. Once this letter is received, the collector must STOP contacting you.
*Please Note: Even if you send a cease letter, the debt collector may contact you: (1) to inform you that it received your letter, or (2) to advise you that it may file a lawsuit against you, or (3) to inform you that it may report your delinquent debt to the credit reporting agencies. If the threat of a lawsuit is to get you to pay the Credit Card debt, but in reality, the collector has no intention of filing a lawsuit, they may be in violation of the FDCPA.
What can I do if a debt collector continues to contact me?
Send the Cease letter. Do not waste valuable time and create stress for yourself by engaging with and talking to the collector. They record all their calls. Moreover, your conversations will generally be futile as they will likely not stop. Also, as the collector hears your stress, if feels embolden and will usually continue contacting you irrespectively.
*Please Note: your first step is ALWAYS to write and send a CEASE LETTER. This is because if you do not send one, the debt collector can continue to contact you.
If you sent a cease letter, and the collector ignores it and continues to contact you, you are permitted to file a lawsuit against the collection agency and collector and ask the court to intervene by stopping the debt collectors from contacting you. For your lawsuit to succeed you MUST be able to show proof and bring evidence that (1) you in fact sent the cease letter and (2) notwithstanding the letter, the collector continued to contact you.
In other words, keep excellent records with names, dates and times in the event you go to court. Also, keep a log of every time you are contacted with the date, time and message. You may also record the calls, subject to your states telephone recording laws. For example, in New York you are permitted legally to record a debt collection call without letting the collector know.
What are the recording laws in NY, NJ, FL and CT?
Consent of at least one party to any telephone or electronic communication, including those through a cellphone, is required to record it, See N.Y. Penal Law §250.00, §250.05; Also, Sharon v. Sharon, 558 N.Y.S.2d 468, 470 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 1990) a case that held the law applies to cellphones and cordless phones too.
Because the provision of the law dealing with electronic communications applies to “any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature,” consent of at least one party likewise is required to disclose the contents of text messages and emails, See N.Y. Penal Law § 250.00.
Interestingly, at least one NY state court, held this law only applies to communications “in transit,” and not to messages like emails that are “stored” after being sent or received, See People v. Thompson, 28 N.Y.S.3d 237, 244 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. 2016).
New Jersey
Under New Jersey Law, the consent of at least one party to any telephone or electronic communication is required to record it, See N.J. Stat. Ann. §§ 2A:156A-3, -4.
Furthermore, since the NJ statute dealing with electronic communications applies to “any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature,” consent of at least one party is required to disclose the contents of text messages sent between cellphones, See N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:156A-2.
It is illegal to record a telephone conversation in Florida without the consent of all parties to the conversation. See Fla. Stat. § 934.03(2)(d).
Connecticut’s “eavesdropping law” makes it a crime to record a phone conversation without the consent of at least one party to the call. See Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 53a-187, -189. The state may also impose civil penalties for recording telephone calls without first obtaining all parties’ consent either in writing or verbally or without a warning that the conversation is being recorded. See Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-570d.
