If the debt collector can no longer contact you, they may file a lawsuit against you in court. There are some potential drawbacks to sending a Cease and Desist Letter. If contacts do not stop as requested, you might have a legal claim against the debt collector under the FDCPA. Sending a Cease and Desist Letter, if done properly, will limit or stop communication with the debt collector. You can also send other communications to request additional information about the alleged debt or set limitations on contacts. If you want a debt collector or collection agency to stop contacting you, you can send a Cease and Desist Letter asking that communication stop. Can I send a Cease and Desist Letter to a collection agency? That means that if the debt collector is engaging in harassment, they may have violated the FDCPA-and you might have a legal claim against the debt collector for money damages and attorney fees. Keep in mind that the FDCPA specifically prohibits debt collectors from harassing consumers. A high frequency of calls within a short amount of time is more likely to be considered harassment. In other cases, it may not be considered harassment until after hundreds of calls. For some people, a few calls over a short period may be enough to be considered harassment. You will have to decide whether you think the debt collector is harassing you. However, a debt collector is not allowed to repeatedly call you or continuously contact you for the purpose of annoying or abusing you. How many times is a debt collector allowed to contact me before it is considered harassment?Īlthough federal law sets out that a debt collector cannot harass you, it does not specifically limit the number of times a debt collector can call you. If you have an attorney representing you, the debt collector can only contact the attorney about the issue. However, they cannot discuss your debt with anyone but you or your spouse. They can also contact you through other means, such as text messages, email, or mail. They also cannot contact you at work if they know that your workplace prohibits personal phone calls. In general, debt collectors are prohibited from calling before 8 a.m. For example, debt collectors cannot call you at an “unusual time” or contact you at a place they know is inconvenient. Debt collectors can call you if they are attempting to make arrangements to collect a debt. Is it legal for debt collectors to call me?Īs a general rule, yes.