Are Debt Collectors Calling You?

Debt Collectors Are Calling You in Pasco County: Here’s What the Law Actually Lets Them Do

A debt collector may contact you about a legitimate consumer debt. That does not mean the collector can call whenever it wants, disclose the debt to other people, threaten consequences it cannot lawfully impose, or pressure you through harassment or deception.

Pasco County residents are protected by both the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act. These laws do not erase valid debts, but they establish boundaries for how consumer debts may be collected.

Understanding those boundaries can help you separate lawful collection activity from conduct that may violate your rights.

Who Is Covered by Debt Collection Laws?

The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, commonly called the FDCPA, generally applies to third-party debt collectors collecting consumer debts incurred primarily for personal, family, or household purposes.

Examples may include:

• Credit card balances
• Medical bills
• Personal loans
• Deficiency balances
• Past-due apartment charges
• Certain consumer finance accounts

The federal law does not apply identically to every original creditor collecting its own account. Florida law is broader in certain respects because the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act regulates prohibited conduct by any “person” collecting consumer debts, subject to the statute’s definitions and applicable case law.

When Can a Debt Collector Call You?

Under federal law, a debt collector generally may not contact a consumer at a time or place the collector knows, or should know, is inconvenient.

Without information showing otherwise, calls before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. in the consumer’s local time are generally considered inconvenient.

A collector must also stop using a particular communication method when the consumer properly requests that the collector not use that method, subject to limited exceptions. For example, a consumer may request that a collector stop contacting them through a particular email address or telephone number.

Is There a Limit on How Often They Can Call?

Federal Regulation F establishes presumptions involving telephone-call frequency.

Subject to specified exclusions, a debt collector is presumed to comply with federal restrictions on repeated calls when it does not:

• Place more than seven calls within seven consecutive days regarding a particular debt; or
• Call again within seven consecutive days after having a telephone conversation with the consumer about that particular debt.

Exceeding those frequencies creates a presumption that the collector violated the rule. The regulation is not a simple allowance for seven calls under every circumstance. Calls made with an intent to annoy, abuse, or harass may still be unlawful even when the numerical presumption has not been exceeded.

What Debt Collectors Cannot Say or Do

The FDCPA prohibits debt collectors from using false, deceptive, misleading, unfair, or abusive collection practices.

A debt collector generally may not:

• Threaten arrest or imprisonment for failing to pay an ordinary civil debt
• Falsely claim to be a police officer, government representative, or attorney
• Misrepresent the amount, ownership, or legal status of a debt
• Threaten a lawsuit, garnishment, seizure, or other action that cannot legally be taken
• Threaten legal action the collector does not actually intend to pursue
• Use obscene, abusive, or threatening language
• Repeatedly call with an intent to annoy, abuse, or harass
• Send documents designed to look like court papers when they are not
• Imply that nonpayment is a crime when it is not

The FDCPA also prohibits false statements that a consumer’s property or wages will be seized unless that action is lawful and the collector or creditor intends to pursue it.

Florida law separately prohibits practices such as threatening force or violence, pretending to represent law enforcement or a government agency, using willful abuse, and asserting a legal right when the collector knows the right does not exist.

Florida Statutes section 559.72 also restricts communications with a debtor’s employer before a final judgment, unless a statutory exception applies.

Can a Collector Tell Your Family or Employer About the Debt?

Debt collectors generally cannot discuss your debt with relatives, neighbors, coworkers, or other third parties.

A collector may contact another person in limited circumstances to obtain location information, but ordinarily cannot disclose that you owe a debt. A collector may also communicate with your attorney when it knows you are represented concerning the debt.

Florida law restricts communications with an employer before the collector obtains a final judgment, unless the debtor has provided written permission or another statutory exception applies.

A collector may leave a limited-content voicemail designed to avoid revealing the debt to someone else. A message that unnecessarily discloses the debt to family members, coworkers, or other third parties may require closer legal review.

Do They Have to Prove the Debt?

Federal law generally requires a debt collector to provide validation information either in its initial communication or within five days after that communication, unless the debt has already been paid.

The notice generally must identify:

• The amount of the debt
• The current creditor
• The consumer’s right to dispute the debt
• The deadline for disputing it
• The right to request information concerning the original creditor

When a consumer disputes the debt in writing within the applicable 30-day period, the collector generally must stop collection of the disputed debt until it obtains verification and mails that verification to the consumer. Failing to dispute the debt during that period is not, by itself, an admission that the consumer owes it.

This 30-day validation period is separate from the deadline to respond to a lawsuit. Receiving a collection notice does not prevent a creditor or collector from filing suit when legally permitted. Once formal lawsuit papers are served, the court deadline controls.

Can You Tell a Debt Collector to Stop Calling?

A consumer may notify a debt collector that calls at a particular time, place, number, or through a particular communication method are inconvenient.

Under the FDCPA, a written request that a debt collector stop communicating generally requires the collector to cease further communications, subject to limited exceptions. The collector may still communicate to confirm that further efforts are ending or to state that it or the creditor may invoke a specific lawful remedy.

Stopping collection calls does not eliminate the debt. It also does not prevent a creditor from filing a lawsuit when the claim is otherwise enforceable.

For that reason, a cease-communication letter should not be treated as a complete debt-resolution strategy.

Keep Evidence of Potential Collection Violations

Consumers who believe a collector is crossing the line should preserve evidence rather than relying on memory.

Keep:

• Call logs and voicemail recordings
• Letters, emails, and text messages
• Envelopes showing mailing dates
• Screenshots of caller-identification information
• The collector’s name and company
• Dates and summaries of each conversation
• Copies of any dispute or cease-communication letter
• Postal tracking or delivery confirmation

Florida’s consumer collection law allows a debtor to bring a civil action for violations of section 559.72. Available relief may include actual damages, statutory damages of up to $1,000, court costs, and reasonable attorney’s fees, depending on the facts and the court’s findings. The FDCPA also provides potential civil remedies for qualifying violations.

When Collection Calls Point to a Larger Debt Problem

Even when a collector follows the law, repeated calls may signal that the underlying debt has become unmanageable.

Possible responses may include:

• Disputing an account that is inaccurate or not yours
• Reviewing whether the collector can document ownership of the account
• Negotiating a settlement or payment arrangement
• Evaluating defenses to threatened litigation
• Assessing whether bankruptcy could address multiple unsecured debts

The appropriate strategy depends on the amount and type of debt, income, assets, exemptions, pending lawsuits, and the consumer’s broader financial circumstances.

The Law Office of Ziona Kopelovich assists individuals and families with debt-relief and bankruptcy matters. Speaking with an attorney can help determine whether collection conduct may be unlawful and whether the underlying debt should be disputed, negotiated, defended, or addressed through bankruptcy.

Important Notice

This article provides general legal information and is not legal advice. Debt-collection rights and remedies depend on the specific facts, the identity of the creditor or collector, the type of debt, and current law. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.