Is It Legal for a Debt Collector to Call My Cell Phone?

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) (15 U.S.C. § 1692 and following) is a federal law that limits what debt collectors can (and can't) do when attempting to collect debts from consumers. For the most part, it applies to debt collectors only, not to the original creditor collecting its own debt, and it usually doesn't apply to the collection of business debts.

To protect debtors from harassing phone calls and communications, the FDCPA prohibits debt collectors from making certain types of communications. Several of these provisions make it risky for collectors to call consumer debtors on their cell phones.

FDCPA Prohibits Communications at Inconvenient Places

The FDCPA expressly states that debt collectors can't communicate with consumer debtors at an unusual time or place, or a time or place that the debt collector knows, or should know, is inconvenient. (15 U.S.C. §â€¯1692c (2024).)

Because of cell phones' mobile nature, when a collector calls you on your cell phone, the collector doesn't know where you are. If you're at a place where it's inconvenient for you to receive collection calls, then the collector might have violated the FDCPA. For example, if the collector calls your mobile phone while you're at work, it might be a violation of the FDCPA. Similarly, other places and times might be inconvenient. A collector who calls your cell while you're attending a funeral, or teaching a college class, could be violating the FDCPA.

A conscientious debt collector can avoid some of the risk by immediately telling you who's calling and asking if it is convenient to talk.

Causing a Debtor to Incur Charges by Concealing the "True Purpose" of the Call

Another provision of the FDCPA prohibits debt collection agencies from causing you to incur charges or costs by hiding the true purpose of the call. (15 U.S.C. §â€¯1692f (2024).) Originally, this provision applied to things like collect calls and telegrams.

However, today, it can also be applied to some people's cell phones if they'll incur usage charges for the call. If it's not clear from the caller ID information or phone number that the call is from a debt collector, then the collector would be concealing the "true purpose" of the call—which is debt collection.

Unless the consumer is very familiar with the debt collector's phone number or name from prior calls, it's unlikely that most consumers will know they are getting a call from a collector on their cell phone.

More Protections Against Aggressive Debt Collectors

As of November 30, 2021, the following additional protections went into effect under the FDCPA.

• Limitation on number of calls. A debt collector may not call a consumer more than seven times within seven consecutive days or within a period of seven consecutive days after having had a telephone conversation with the person in connection with the collection of such debt. The date of the telephone conversation is the first day of the seven-consecutive-day period. (12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b)).
• Restrictions on the use of texts and emails. Debt collectors may use newer technologies, such as email and text messages, to communicate with consumers regarding their debts, subject to certain limitations, which protect consumers against harassment or abuse. For example, debt collectors are prohibited from communicating or attempting to communicate through a social media platform if the message is viewable by the general public or your social media contacts. (12 C.F.R. § 1006.22(f) (2024).) Also, if a debt collector sends you a private message via social media, like Facebook or LinkedIn, asking to be added as one of your contacts, the collector is supposed to disclose their identity as a debt collector. (12 C.F.R. § 1006.18(d), see official interpretation (2024).)
• Opting out of electronic communications, such as texts. If a collector sends you a text, email, or other electronic communication, it also has to give you a way to easily opt out of receiving those communications. (12 C.F.R. § 1006.6(e) (2024).)
• Restrictions on sending messages to your work email. A debt collector can't communicate or attempt to communicate with you by sending an email to an email address that the debt collector knows is a work email address, subject to some exceptions. For example, a collector may send messages to your work email if you used the email address to communicate with the debt collector about the debt and you haven't opted out since. Or if you gave prior consent directly to the debt collector that it could use your work email address and you haven't withdrawn consent, then the collector can email you at that address. (12 C.F.R. § 1006.22(f)(3), 12 C.F.R. § 1006.6(d) (2024).)

Also, you have the right to cease all collection communications from a debt collector. And you can also stop communications through a particular medium, such as your cell phone, subject to some exceptions. (15 C.F.R. § 1692c(c), 12 C.F.R. § 1006.6(c), 12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(h) (2024).)

What If a Debt Collector Violates the FDCPA by Calling You on Your Cell Phone?

If the collector keeps calling your cell phone, particularly after you've given notice that it's not a convenient time or place to take the calls, that you're incurring usage charges for the calls, or the collector is violating the FDCPA in some other way, you can sue the collector in court, for example, small claims court, for damages.

Talk to a Lawyer

If you think a debt collector has violated the FDCPA when trying to collect a debt from you, consider talking to an attorney who can analyze your situation and advise you about your rights and options under the law.