A debt collector's FDCPA violation won't eliminate your liability for the underlying debt. But you might be able to use the violation as a bargaining tool.
Updated 9/24/2024
If a collector violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) (15 U.S.C. § 1692 and following (2024)), those FDCPA violations won’t eliminate your liability for the underlying debt. But you could file a lawsuit for violations of the FDCPA and, if you win the case, get money damages from the collector.
Or you could also use the fact that the collector violated the law—and that you might file a lawsuit—as a bargaining tool to potentially reduce or get rid of the debt.
What Are FDCPA Violations?
The FDCPA is the main federal law that protects consumers from aggressive, abusive, unfair, or deceptive debt collectors. If you have a debt that's in collections, you should be able to recognize FDCPA violations so you can invoke your rights and possibly use those violations to your advantage.
Examples of FDCPA Violations
FDCPA violations include, among other things, when a debt collector:
- uses threats of violence or harm
- uses profane language when trying to collect the debt
- tells you that you’re subject to arrest if you don’t pay your debt
- makes false or misleading representations, such as claiming to be a law enforcement agency or an attorney (if they aren't)
- falsely saying that you'll go to jail for not paying the debt
- contacts third parties (except your attorney, a credit reporting agency, or the original creditor) about your debt
- calls or contacts you repeatedly or at unreasonable hours
- communicates or attempts to communicate with you through a medium of communication if you've requested that the debt collector not use that medium to communicate with you (subject to certain limited exceptions)
- uses false representation or deceptive means to collect or attempt to collect a debt or to obtain information about you, or
- brings or threatens to bring, a legal action against you to collect a time-barred debt (a debt for which the applicable statute of limitations has expired).
FDCPA Applies to Digital Communications, Including Texts and Emails
Because Congress passed the FDCPA in 1977, the law didn’t initially address modern communication methods like text messages, emails, voicemails, and social media. On October 30, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a final rule amending Regulation F, which implements the FDCPA, to clarify how debt collectors can use these digital communications.
The rule explains how the FDCPA’s protections apply to digital communications and gives consumers the ability to unsubscribe from debt collectors’ electronic messages. It also describes how collectors may use voicemails and limits how often debt collectors can call you.
FDCPA Violations Won’t Eliminate Your Debt
When you incur a debt, you typically have a contractual obligation to repay it. Even if the debt collector breaks the law when trying to collect from you, you’re still responsible for paying the debt unless it's time-barred or invalid for some other reason.
But if a debt collector violates the FDCPA, you might be able to use those violations to improve your situation. These options range from suing the debt collector to reporting the collector to government agencies to using the violations as a negotiation tactic to reduce or eliminate the debt.
Options for Improving Your Situation When a Debt Collector Violates the FDCPA
Here are some options for improving your situation when a collector violates the FDCPA.
File a Lawsuit Against the Debt Collector
If a debt collector violates the FDCPA, you may sue that collector in state or federal court. You can even sue in small claims court. You must do this within one year from the date on which the violation occurred.
If you win the suit, the judge can require the collector to compensate you for any actual damages you suffered and award statutory damages of up to $1,000 (even if you can’t prove that you suffered actual damages), plus attorneys' fees and costs. The court might also order the debt collector to stop engaging in certain collection activities.
Under the FDCPA, again, lawsuits alleging violations of the FDCPA must be brought “within one year from the date on which the violation occurs.” (15 U.S.C. § 1692k(d) (2024)). In the case of Rotkiske v. Klemm, 589 U.S. ___ (2019), the U.S. Supreme Court clarified that the one-year statute of limitations for an FDCPA violation begins to run when the alleged violation occurs, not when the offense is discovered, absent the application of an equitable doctrine.
Use the FDCPA Violations as Leverage to Settle the Debt
Debt collectors don’t like FDCPA lawsuits. Lawsuits are expensive to defend and often result in a judgment against the debt collector. For this reason, you might be able to convince the collector that it would be more cost-effective to reduce or eliminate your debt rather than to defend its actions in court.
Report the FDCPA Violations
You could also report any FDCPA violations to your state Attorney General’s office and file a complaint about the debt collector with the CFPB.
The CFPB will forward your complaint to the collector and assist you in resolving your complaint. It will also share information about your complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which might choose to sue the debt collector to curtail its illegal debt collection practices. Both the FTC and the CFPB enforce the FDCPA.
Learn More About FDCPA Violations
For more information about what constitutes FDCPA violations, see the FDIC's Consumer Compliance Examination Manual (2023) and www.consumerfinance.gov.
If you think a debt collector has violated the FDCPA when trying to collect a debt from you, consider talking to a debt settlement lawyer who can analyze your individual situation and advise you about your rights and options under the law. A lawyer can help you file a suit against a collector if you decide to go that route.
Also, many states have fair debt collection laws. Sometimes, these laws provide the same protections as the FDCPA. But, other times, they provide more protections to consumers. For example, state fair debt collection laws might apply to creditors in addition to collectors. Or it might make additional types of collection tactics illegal under state law. A local attorney can tell you what laws apply in your state.
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