Collectors and creditors are prohibited from harassing in an effort to collect the debt. This includes:
- Disclosing debts to a third party including neighbors, employer, or a spouse or family member who is not responsible for the debt.
- Calling and talking to debtor at home more than twice in each seven day period per debt.
- Calling debtor at home before 8am or after 9pm, unless debtor informs the creditor or collector of different "normal waking hours."
- Calling and talking to debtor more than twice in a 30 day period at work per debt.
- Calling debtor at work after has been asked not to. They must honor a verbal request for ten (10) days and a written request for as long as you owe the debt. A verbal request must be confirmed in writing within seven (7) days to be valid for longer than ten days.
- Threatening to have debtor arrested, or threatening to garnish wages without telling debtor a court order is needed for them to do so.
- Threatening to take legal action when they do not intend to do so.
- Calling and leaving a message with another member of household with a frequency that would be considered harassing.
- Calling neighbors, unless it is for the sole purpose of determining debtors current place of residence.
- For a debt collector, continuing to contact debtor after debtor has asked in writing that the collector stop all collection contacts under Federal Law 15 USC 1692. In this circumstance, the collector may then only contact the debtor to advise that the collector will either cease further efforts, or to notify debtor that the collector or creditor intends to invoke a specified remedy ordinarily invoked by the debt collector or creditor.
