Florida's FCCPA reaches original creditors
The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act mostly covers third-party collectors, not a bank or store collecting its own debt. Florida's Consumer Collection Practices Act is broader: its list of prohibited practices opens with "In collecting consumer debts, a person may not," so it reaches original creditors too. A consumer who proves a violation can recover actual damages, statutory damages up to $1,000 and, where the court allows, punitive damages.
The calls are not coming from a collection agency. They are coming from your own bank, or the finance company that holds your car loan, or the hospital. They call your sister. They call at 9:30 at night. You read that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act protects you, and then you read that it does not apply to creditors.
In Florida, that is not the end of it.
The gap in federal law
The FDCPA covers "debt collectors": third parties collecting debts owed to someone else, including debt buyers and lawyers who regularly collect. A creditor collecting its own debt is generally outside it, unless it uses a false name (15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)). So when the bank that lent you the money calls ten times a day, the federal Act usually does not reach it.
Florida closed that gap. Section 559.72 of the Florida Statutes, the heart of the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act, begins: "In collecting consumer debts, a person may not." Florida's definition of "debt collector" in § 559.55 excludes an original creditor collecting in its own name, but § 559.72 is not limited to debt collectors. It applies to any person.
What any person collecting in Florida may not do
- Contact your employer before a final judgment, unless you gave permission in writing or acknowledged the debt in writing after it was placed (Fla. Stat. § 559.72(4)).
- Tell others information affecting your reputation without a legitimate business need, or disclose a debt it knows is reasonably disputed without saying so (§ 559.72(5), (6)).
- Call with harassing frequency, or use other abusive conduct toward you or your family (§ 559.72(7)).
- Use profane, obscene, vulgar or willfully abusive language (§ 559.72(8)).
- Try to enforce a debt it knows is not legitimate, or assert a legal right it knows does not exist (§ 559.72(9)).
- Fake legal process or imply government or attorney authority (§ 559.72(10), (11), (12)).
- Communicate between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. in your time zone without your prior consent. Since a 2025 amendment, this covers communications generally, with an exception for a compliant email (§ 559.72(17)).
- Contact you once it knows you have a lawyer for the debt, unless the lawyer fails to respond within 30 days, consents, or you start the contact (§ 559.72(18)).
Two public cases
Medley v. DISH Network. After a woman's Chapter 7 discharge, her lawyer faxed DISH, the original creditor, citing § 559.72(18). DISH kept sending billing notices and placed six prerecorded calls. A federal jury in Florida found for her on the § 559.72(18) claim and awarded $1,000 in statutory damages, $8,750 in actual damages and $225,000 in punitive damages; the court denied DISH's motion to reduce the verdict. See the Medley story.
Goodin v. Bank of America. A mortgage servicer kept treating a couple as in default after their Chapter 13 plan was completed. After a bench trial, a Florida federal court found violations of both the FDCPA and FCCPA § 559.72(9), and awarded statutory damages under each, emotional distress damages, and $100,000 in FCCPA punitive damages. See the Goodin story.
These are public court records, not results of this firm, and every case turns on its own facts.
What the FCCPA provides
A person who violates § 559.72 is liable for actual damages and additional statutory damages as the court may allow, up to $1,000, together with court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. The court may also award punitive damages and equitable relief, including an injunction (Fla. Stat. § 559.77(2)). In a class action, the statutory damages cap is the lesser of $500,000 or 1 percent of the defendant's net worth. The FCCPA requires a company found liable to pay the consumer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs.
You may sue in the county where the violator resides or has its principal place of business, or where the violation occurred (§ 559.77(1)). The deadline is two years after the violation (§ 559.77(4)). If the collector is also a third-party debt collector, the FDCPA's one-year deadline applies to that claim.
If you have been sued, do not ignore the papers
A collection lawsuit has a short answer deadline, and Florida's four- and five-year limitation periods for debts are defenses you raise by answering. Read sued by a debt collector.
What to do this week
- Start a log of every call: date, time, number, who called. Note any call between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m.
- Save every letter, text and voicemail, including the envelopes.
- If you have a lawyer for the debt, tell the creditor in writing and keep proof. Under § 559.72(18), contact after that is limited.
- Ask your family and employer to write down any calls they received about your debt.
The Florida page covers the state rules in full.
Sources: Fla. Stat. §§ 559.72, 559.55, 559.77, 95.11; ch. 2025-23, Laws of Fla. (SB 232); 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6); Medley v. DISH Network, LLC, No. 8:16-cv-2534 (M.D. Fla. Aug. 25, 2023); Goodin v. Bank of America, N.A., 114 F. Supp. 3d 1197 (M.D. Fla. 2015).
Common questions
If my own bank is harassing me, can I sue under the federal FDCPA?
Usually not. The FDCPA covers debt collectors, meaning third parties collecting debts owed to another, and a creditor collecting its own debt in its own name is generally outside it. In Florida, the FCCPA's list of prohibited practices applies to any person collecting a consumer debt, so the bank's conduct can be measured against the state statute instead.
How long do I have to sue under the FCCPA?
Two years after the date of the alleged violation (Fla. Stat. 559.77(4)). The federal FDCPA gives one year. Keep dated records of every call and letter.
Can I be ordered to pay the other side's fees?
If the court finds that the suit failed to raise a justiciable issue of law or fact, the plaintiff is liable for the defendant's court costs and reasonable attorney's fees (Fla. Stat. 559.77(2)). A claim built on dated records and the statute's text is the answer to that risk.
Tell us what they did.
One conversation with an attorney, in your language. We tell you which laws the collector or the credit bureau broke, which deadline runs first, and what to save this week. If it is not a case we can take, we say so and tell you where to go.
(718) 484-7510The FDCPA and the FCRA require a company found liable to pay the consumer’s reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. Our fee arrangement is confirmed in a written retainer before we begin. English, Russian and Spanish in-house; an interpreter for any other language.