When is Debt Collection Considered Abuse?
What Arizona laws and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act say about collection harassment
By Super Lawyers staff | Reviewed by Canaan Suitt, J.D. | Last updated on March 25, 2024 Featuring practical insights from contributing attorney Russell S. Thompson, IVUse these links to jump to different sections:
- An Overview of Your Rights Under the FDCPA and Arizona Law
- Take Action to Protect Your Rights
- Get an Attorney To Review Your Case for Free
In Arizona, consumers are protected against abusive debt collection practices. Under Arizona state law and United States federal law, debt collection agencies must follow certain procedures when attempting to validate and recover consumer debt for individuals. Harassment is strictly prohibited.
This raises an important question: How is debt collection harassment defined under state and federal law?
An Overview of Your Rights Under the FDCPA and Arizona Law
As a starting point, it is worth noting that the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) generally provides stronger legal protections to consumers than does Arizona state law, and most legal action will be filed under the FDCPA.
“Unfortunately, Arizona doesn’t have a private right of action under its own state laws,” says Russell S. Thompson IV, a consumer law attorney in Scottsdale. “But Arizona does require debt collectors to be able to have certain information when they are collecting debt, and consumers can request that.”
If you want to know if your rights have been violated, you should consider whether or not a debt collector has complied with their duties under federal law. Under the FDCPA, abusive debt collector practices typically fit into one of the following four categories:
Communications with the Debtor
Debt collection companies must follow certain rules when communicating with an alleged debtor:
- Identification. They must identify themselves as a debt collector
- Time of calls. The FDCPA prevents telephone calls at certain hours. Collectors cannot contact you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., or at times that are known to be inconvenient, such as when the debtor is at work and “the consumer’s place of employment prohibits the consumer from getting those calls,” says Thompson. People who work from home are also protected. “We see it often, where [debtors] say, ‘Listen, I work from home, so don’t call me before 6:30 p.m., but after 6:30 is fine,’ and then people just continue to call [at random times], mostly on the auto-dialers. At that point they should know that those times are inconvenient since they affect people and their work.”
- Legal representation. Finally, if you say that you have an attorney, they must go through your lawyer.
Communications with Third Parties
Debt collectors can only contact third parties to get “contact” information and “location” information about a consumer. They cannot tell another person that you owe a debt, how much you owe, or about any other details. Instead, they can simply ask for contact information.
Harassment and Abuse
Thompson says it can be tough to tell when debt collectors cross the line. “But there are a variety of situations that can be considered abuse,” he says. For example, the FDCPA requires debt collectors to use professional language and a professional tone when they speak to you. They cannot scream at you, use profanity, or try to intimidate you.
Further, there are restrictions on how often they can call you. “For example, calling five times a day every single day after day after day after day after day,” Thompson says. “That can be considered harassing.”
You also have the right to tell a debt collector that you want to communicate in writing.
Material Misrepresentations
Finally, debt collectors are forbidden from making material misrepresentations to consumers. They cannot threaten you with arrest, they cannot pretend to be somebody else, and they cannot falsely represent how much you actually owe. If you believe that you were lied to or misled, your rights may have been violated under state or federal law.
Take Action to Protect Your Rights
Not only can you file an FDCPA claim to get abusive debt collection practices to stop, but you may be entitled to financial compensation for your damages. To the best of your ability, try to document any abusive or unlawful collection practices.
“We always tell people to save any recordings, whether that be voicemails or if you record the calls that come in. Keep track of all the calls they receive. Write down notes if they have conversations with a debt collector, to keep track of what was said and when it was said, who they spoke with.”
To get the calls to stop, Thompson recommends sending a written request by certified mail. “Under the FDCPA, simply telling somebody to stop calling isn’t enough,” he says. “You have to do it in writing in order for there to be a cease and desist.”
Finally, Thompson suggests disputing the validity of the debt within 30 days of receiving your collection notice to slow down the process and, at the least, get more information. “I almost always would suggest disputing the debt in writing within those 30 days, because it requires the debt collector to cease collecting until they obtain and mail the consumer verification. And I think consumers would be surprised with the number of debt collectors that actually just stop collecting at that point and send the debt back to the creditor or the debt buyer.”
Get an Attorney To Review Your Case for Free
If you believe you are being harassed by a debt collector, the best thing you can do is have an experienced Arizona consumer protection attorney review your case. “I would almost suggest people always reach out to a lawyer,” Thompson says. Most firms, including his, offer free case reviews. If they take the case, they’ll collect their fees from the debt collector, not the consumer. “It never hurts to get a free attorney involved, to review and see if your rights have been violated,” he says.
For more information on this area of law, see our overviews of consumer law and debt collections.
What do I do next?
Enter your location below to get connected with a qualified attorney today.At Super Lawyers, we know legal issues can be stressful and confusing. We are committed to providing you with reliable legal information in a way that is easy to understand. Our legal resources pages are created by experienced attorney writers and writers that specialize in legal content in consultation with the top attorneys that make our Super Lawyers lists. We strive to present information in a neutral and unbiased way, so that you can make informed decisions based on your legal circumstances.
Attorney directory searches
Helpful links
Find top lawyers with confidence
The Super Lawyers patented selection process is peer influenced and research driven, selecting the top 5% of attorneys to the Super Lawyers lists each year. We know lawyers and make it easy to connect with them.
Find a lawyer near you