To complain about a debt collector in the United States, keep the evidence, dispute an inaccurate debt in writing, and send the complaint to the agency that fits the conduct. You can use the CFPB, FTC, and your state consumer-protection office. A BBB complaint is optional.
A complaint may put facts before an agency that uses complaints to identify patterns, or it may prompt a company response. It won't cancel a debt, stop a lawsuit, or extend a court deadline.
Start with the step that fits the problem
- Don't hand over sensitive information during a pressured call. Avoid sharing bank details, a Social Security number, or payment until you know who is contacting you and what debt is being claimed.
- Keep a contact log. Save letters, emails, texts, voicemails, caller ID details, and payment records.
- Find the validation notice. If the debt is wrong or not yours, a written dispute sent within 30 days after receiving the notice can trigger important protections.
- Send a cease-communication request if contact itself is the problem. This can restrict future communications, but it doesn't erase the debt.
- File a complaint. Choose the CFPB, FTC, state consumer-protection office, or more than one route when appropriate.
- Treat a lawsuit as a separate task. A pending agency complaint does not extend the deadline to answer a summons.
Which law applies?
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act text is the main federal law for many collection contacts involving consumer debts. It generally covers third-party collectors, collection agencies, debt buyers, and other businesses that regularly collect debts owed to someone else.
The FDCPA usually does not cover an original creditor collecting its own debt under its own name. That analysis can change if the creditor uses another name or the facts are different.
The debt also matters. The FDCPA mainly covers personal, family, and household debts. A business debt, credit-bureau issue, loan-servicing problem, or collection effort by an original creditor may involve another federal or state law.
Three actions are often confused:
- A dispute tells the collector that you challenge the debt, the amount, or your responsibility for it.
- A complaint tells a government agency or other organization that the collector may have violated the law or treated you improperly.
- A cease-communication request tells the collector to stop contacting you, subject to limited exceptions. It doesn't settle the account or prevent every legally permitted notice.
FDCPA protections that often matter
The federal validation rules are in 15 U.S.C. section 1692g. These are the protections most likely to affect a complaint:
| Protection | What it means |
|---|---|
| Validation notice | A collector generally must send written information about the debt within five days after the initial communication, unless the required information was included in that communication or an exception applies. |
| Written dispute period | You generally have 30 days after receiving the notice to dispute all or part of the debt in writing. |
| Collection pause | A timely written dispute generally requires the collector to stop collecting the disputed amount until it mails verification. A timely written request for the original creditor's name and address also triggers a pause until that information is provided. |
| Notice during the 30-day period | Collection activity during the dispute period cannot contradict or overshadow the notice of your right to dispute the debt. |
| Calling hours | Without prior consent, calls generally cannot be made before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in your local time. |
| Harassment and abuse | Threats of violence, obscene language, intimidation, and abusive conduct can violate the FDCPA. |
| False or misleading statements | A collector cannot misstate the amount, legal status, or identity of the creditor, or threaten legal action it cannot legally take or does not actually intend to take. |
| Contact with other people | A collector may seek limited location information from another person, but it generally cannot tell that person you owe a debt. |
| Cease-communication request | After receiving a written request to stop, the collector generally may communicate only for limited purposes, such as confirming that collection has ended or notifying you about a specific legal remedy. |
| Attorney representation | If the collector knows an attorney represents you regarding the debt, it generally must communicate with the attorney instead, subject to statutory exceptions. |
These rules don't make every unpleasant call illegal. A collector can usually try to collect a valid consumer debt, and a billing error by itself isn't automatically an FDCPA violation. The collector's status, the type of debt, what was said, when it was said, and what happened after a written notice can all matter.
Conduct worth documenting and reporting
Don't rely only on the word "harassment" in a complaint. Describe the conduct itself. Examples include:
- A caller threatens arrest, violence, public exposure, or punishment that debt-collection law does not permit.
- The caller pretends to be a police officer, court employee, government agency, or attorney.
- The collector threatens a lawsuit it cannot legally bring or does not intend to file.
- The collector uses the wrong amount, tries to collect a debt you already paid, or refuses to correct an obvious wrong-person account.
- Calls arrive before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. local time, or involve threats, humiliation, or abusive language.
- The collector tells a relative, coworker, or neighbor that you owe money instead of limiting the contact to permitted location information.
- Collection continues on a disputed amount before the collector sends the required verification.
- The collector continues contacting you after receiving a written cease-communication request, outside the limited communications allowed by law.
- A prerecorded or automated call keeps coming, the number appears to be wrong, or the company won't identify who is collecting and why.
Automated calls aren't automatically illegal. Separate federal and state telephone rules may apply. The details include whether the call used a prerecorded voice, whether you gave consent, and whether the number was wrong. Include those facts rather than labeling every automated call unlawful.
Build a record before you complain
Keep one line for each contact. Record:
- The date and exact time
- The phone number and caller ID
- The collector's stated name
- The company name, mailing address, and account or reference number
- Whether the contact was a call, voicemail, letter, email, or text
- The exact words used, especially threats or claims about legal action
- Whether the collector contacted someone else
- Your response and any request you made to stop
- Witness names
- Screenshots, envelopes, delivery records, and payment documents
Keep the original voicemail or email. Save a copy of every letter you send and proof of delivery. Call-recording consent laws vary by state, so check the applicable law before recording a conversation.
Complaint portals don't need your full Social Security number, bank account number, or unnecessary medical information. Redact those details while leaving enough information for the agency to identify the account.
Dispute the debt in writing
A written dispute is useful when the debt isn't yours, the amount is wrong, the account was paid, or you want the collector to provide verification. Send it to the mailing address on the validation notice, not just to the phone number used by the caller. A phone call doesn't replace the written dispute required for the FDCPA's 30-day protection.
People often call this a debt validation letter. There isn't a required magic phrase. Identify the account and say clearly whether you dispute all of it or only part of it.
Debt dispute template
[Your name]
[Your mailing address]
[Date][Collector name]
[Collector mailing address]Re: Account number [account number]
I dispute this debt [in full / in the amount of $___]. Please send verification of the debt and the information required by 15 U.S.C. section 1692g, including the current amount and the name and address of the original creditor if it is different. Please treat the account as disputed.
This letter is not an acknowledgment that I owe this debt. Please send your response to the mailing address above.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
Send the letter within 30 days after receiving the validation notice if you want the statutory collection pause to apply. Use a trackable delivery method, keep a copy, and save the delivery proof.
More than 30 days may have passed, but you can still tell the collector that the debt is inaccurate or not yours. The automatic pause after a timely dispute may not apply in the same way. Missing the 30-day period also doesn't make an inaccurate debt valid.
The FDCPA doesn't automatically require every document found in online templates, such as an original signed contract or a complete chain of title. Ask for information that identifies and verifies the account. Don't sign an admission of liability unless you understand the consequences.
Ask the collector to stop contacting you
Use a separate letter when the contact itself is the problem, whether or not you believe the debt is valid.
Cease-communication template
[Your name]
[Your mailing address]
[Date][Collector name]
[Collector mailing address]Re: Account number [account number]
I request that you stop communicating with me about this debt, except as permitted after a written cease-communication request under the FDCPA. This request does not admit that I owe the debt.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
A cease-communication request doesn't erase the account, prevent a collector from taking a legally permitted action, or stop a lawsuit that has already been filed. The collector may still send a limited notice confirming that collection has ended or notifying you about a specific intended remedy.
If you also want the debt verified, send a separate written dispute. A cease letter alone isn't a substitute for one.
Where to file the complaint
Use the route that matches the company and the conduct. You can use more than one route, but keep the facts and dates consistent.
| Complaint route | Best use | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| CFPB complaint portal | Collection problems involving financial companies, debt collectors, debt buyers, lenders, or other companies within the CFPB's jurisdiction | The CFPB may forward the complaint to the company or another agency. It isn't a court and can't guarantee a refund, debt cancellation, or legal result. |
| FTC's ReportFraud | Fake-debt schemes, impersonation, threats, and patterns of deceptive conduct | The FTC uses reports for enforcement and public education. It generally doesn't act as your lawyer or resolve every individual dispute. |
| USA.gov state consumer protection directory | State-law issues, licensing concerns, local collection practices, and companies that don't respond | Procedures and response times vary. The office may refer the complaint to another regulator. |
| Better Business Bureau | Optional customer-service escalation | The BBB isn't a government agency and can't order a collector to stop, cancel a debt, or pay damages. |
What to put in the complaint
A short timeline is easier to check than a general description of how upsetting the calls were. Include:
- The collector's legal name, phone number, mailing address, and account or reference number.
- The original creditor, if known.
- Why you believe the debt is wrong or the conduct is unlawful.
- Exact dates, times, number of contacts, and words used during threats or misleading statements.
- Whether you sent a written dispute or cease-communication request, when the collector received it, and what happened next.
- Copies of the validation notice, letters, delivery confirmation, voicemails, emails, texts, and contact log.
- The result you want, such as correction of a wrong-person account, confirmation that the dispute was recorded, or an end to improper contact.
Keep the confirmation number and a copy of the submission. If the company responds through the CFPB process, compare its response with your records and point out specific errors.
A complaint doesn't create a new dispute period. If you haven't disputed the debt, are dealing with a credit-reporting deadline, or have received court papers, handle that issue separately.
If the collector sues you
Don't ignore a summons because you already complained to the CFPB, FTC, or a state office. The court's answer deadline is separate and may be much shorter than an agency's review.
Check whether the papers identify the correct person, debt, amount, and court. Keep the envelope and write down the service date. Contact a consumer-law attorney or legal-aid office promptly, especially if the debt is old, disputed, or connected to identity theft.
The FDCPA also allows a private lawsuit in some circumstances. The statute generally requires the action to be filed within one year after the violation. A person may seek actual damages and, if the court finds a violation, additional statutory damages of up to $1,000, along with possible costs and attorney's fees. Those damages aren't automatic, and the amount isn't simply $1,000 for every call or violation.
The one-year FDCPA period is different from the time limit for a creditor to sue on the debt. Don't assume one deadline answers the other.
Special situations
Old or time-barred debts
The time limit for suing on a debt depends on state law, the type of debt, and sometimes later payments or written acknowledgments. An old account isn't automatically invalid.
Before paying, promising payment, or admitting an old debt, check the law in the state that applies. A complaint doesn't determine whether the statute of limitations has expired, and an expired limit on a lawsuit doesn't answer every question about collection contact.
A debt that isn't yours
State clearly in writing that you dispute the debt and aren't the person responsible. Keep records that show your identity, account history, payment records, or an identity-theft report if those documents are relevant. Don't send unnecessary personal information simply because a caller demands it.
The original creditor is calling
When the original creditor collects under its own name, the FDCPA may not be the main law involved. You can still complain to the company, the CFPB when the company falls within its jurisdiction, and your state consumer-protection office. State unfair-practices laws or other federal rules may provide different protections.
Debt collector complaint questions
Should I dispute the debt or complain first?
If the debt or amount is wrong, send the written dispute promptly. You can file a complaint at the same time or afterward. Abusive contact can be reported even when you believe the underlying debt is valid.
What if I missed the 30-day dispute period?
Send a written dispute anyway and explain what is inaccurate. You may still have other rights, but the FDCPA's automatic pause after a timely dispute may not apply.
Does a cease-communication letter make the debt disappear?
No. It limits communications. It doesn't cancel the debt, prevent a permitted lawsuit, or require a collector to accept a settlement.
Are robocalls automatically illegal?
No. Automated or prerecorded calls can raise separate telephone-law issues, but the answer depends on the call method, consent, number, content, and applicable state law. Save the call details and report them accurately.
What if the collector keeps calling after my letter?
Save the letter, delivery proof, and every later contact. Add the new evidence to your complaint. Prompt legal advice may be useful if the contacts involve threats, third-party disclosures, or collection on a debt that you timely disputed.
This information is general guidance for U.S. consumers, not legal advice. State laws, debt types, and individual facts can change the result. If court papers are in hand, write the service date on the envelope and calendar the answer deadline now; otherwise, start with the validation notice and send any dispute or cease-communication request to the correct mailing address.