HE-642, Reprinted April 1998. Fred Waddell, Extension Family Resource Management Specialist, Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Studies, Auburn University. Originally prepared by Josephine Turner, Extension Program Specialist, Professor, Human Development and Family Studies, Auburn University.

The Fair Debt Law

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a law that forbids a debt collector to:

• Threaten you or your family with harm.
• Use obscene words when talking to you.
• Contact you at a bad time, such as before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m., or in a bad place, such as at work.
• Telephone you without saying who he/she is.
• Use the telephone to annoy you.
• Give false credit information about you.
• Tell others about your debts.

A debt collector may not lie when trying to collect any debt. For instance, a debt collector cannot:

• Falsely claim to represent the United States government or any state government.
• Falsely claim to be a lawyer.
• Falsely claim to operate or work for a credit bureau.
• Use any false name.
• Falsify the papers being sent to you, such as saying they are legal forms or a summons.

Also, a debt collector may not:

• Say that you will be arrested if you do not pay the debt.
• Say that any action will be taken against you which cannot legally be taken.
• Send anything that looks like an official document of any court or agency of the United States or any local government.
• Use a postcard to write to you about your debts.
• Put anything on the outside of an envelope that says the sender is a debt collector.

However, under the law the debt collector can:

• Contact you in person, by mail, telephone, or telegram.
• Contact any person to locate you, but cannot tell this person that you owe money.

Your Rights

Within 5 days after you are first contacted, the debt collector must send you a letter telling you:

• The amount of money you owe.
• The name of the creditor who has employed him/her to collect the money you owe.

If you send a letter within 30 days after you were contacted saying that you do not owe the money, the debt collector must not contact you again. He/she must then send proof of why you owe the money before trying to collect again.

For more information, see "Mistakes on Your Credit Bill" in this credit series.

Questions

If you have any questions about the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that are not answered here, or if you wish to complain about collection practices by creditors, write to: