It can be scary and unnerving to get a message from someone claiming you owe them money. And some debt collectors want you to be scared so that you pay quickly without asking questions. But you have rights under state and federal law.
Debt collectors cannot lie, curse, insult you, or use offensive language. They also cannot threaten to garnish your wages if your wages cannot legally be garnished; for example, a debt collector cannot threaten to take your home or your social security income. You cannot be arrested or placed in jail simply for not paying these debts.
Keep records of harassing calls you receive and make sure to keep any letters or emails you may receive. You may even want to record harassing calls from the debt collectors.
If you have an attorney, the debt collector must talk to your attorney, not you. Debt collectors can call your family and friends to get information about where you live and your phone number, but they cannot tell them they are trying to collect a debt or tell them other personal information.
For more on verifying whether a debt collector is legitimate, see the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's website.
Know Your Rights!
The information below is from resources provided by the Federal Trade Commission.
Can a debt collector contact me any time or any place?
No. A debt collector may not contact you at inconvenient times or places, such as before 8 in the morning or after 9 at night, unless you agree to it. And collectors may not contact you at work if they’re told (orally or in writing) to stop.
Debt collectors can contact you by phone, letter, email or text message to collect a debt, as long as they follow the rules and disclose that they are debt collectors. No matter how they communicate with you, it’s against the law for a debt collector to pretend to be someone else — like an attorney or government agency — or to harass, threaten or deceive you.