New Jersey debt collection law
In New Jersey, the main tools against an abusive collector are the federal laws: the FDCPA for collectors, the FCRA for credit reports, and the TCPA for robocalls. The New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act adds treble damages and mandatory fees for a person who suffers an ascertainable loss from an unlawful practice. A creditor or debt buyer generally has six years to sue you on a contract debt.
Every federal protection on this site applies in New Jersey in full. What New Jersey lacks, compared with Florida and New York, is a broad state collection statute that consumers can sue under directly. That makes the FDCPA's limits on who is a debt collector more important here, and it makes the Consumer Fraud Act the state-law claim to consider when a collection practice cost you money. Mitchell Bromberg, Alexander Susi and Mikhail Usher are admitted in New Jersey.
The federal claims
The FDCPA
A third-party collector, a debt buyer whose principal business is collection, or a law firm that regularly collects consumer debts must follow the FDCPA in New Jersey as everywhere (15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6); Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U.S. 291 (1995)). The remedies are actual damages, statutory damages of up to $1,000 per action, costs and fees (§ 1692k(a)). The FDCPA requires a company found liable to pay the consumer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs. The deadline is one year from the violation (§ 1692k(d)).
Regulation F
More than 7 telephone calls in 7 days about one debt is presumed harassment (12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b)(2)); calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. are presumed inconvenient (§ 1006.6(b)(1)); and suing or threatening to sue on a time-barred debt is forbidden (§ 1006.26(b)). See Regulation F.
The FCRA and the TCPA
Credit report errors are governed by the FCRA, with statutory damages of $100 to $1,000 for a willful violation plus punitive damages and fees (15 U.S.C. § 1681n). Prerecorded or autodialed calls to a cell phone without consent are governed by the TCPA, at $500 per violation or up to $1,500 if willful (47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(3)), with no fee-shifting clause.
The New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act
The Consumer Fraud Act's private remedy is at N.J.S.A. 56:8-19. Any person who suffers an ascertainable loss of money or property, real or personal, as a result of a method, act or practice declared unlawful under the Act may sue, or assert a counterclaim, in any court of competent jurisdiction. The court "shall" award threefold the damages sustained, and in all actions under the section "shall also award reasonable attorneys' fees, filing fees and reasonable costs of suit."
Two limits on what this page says
First, the Act requires an ascertainable loss of money or property; distress alone is not that. Second, the Act reaches practices it declares unlawful, and whether a given collection practice is one of them depends on the facts and the case law. This page has verified the remedy section from the Legislature's published text, not the scope of the Act as applied to debt collection, and it does not state a general rule. Bills proposing to make treble damages discretionary have been introduced; as reproduced in those bills, the current text says "shall."
Source: N.J.S.A. 56:8-19, current text as reproduced in Assembly Bill 2084 (2022), pub.njleg.gov, checked September 25, 2026.
How long a collector has to sue you
Six years on a contract debt
Under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1, an action on a contractual claim not under seal is in the group that must be commenced within six years after the claim accrues. That is the period that usually governs a credit card or personal loan suit. Bills to cut it to three years, or to stop a later payment from reviving a time-barred consumer debt, have been introduced in the Legislature; none had been enacted as of September 2026 so far as we found. Some debts may fall under a different statute, so confirm the period with a lawyer before relying on it.
A collector that sues or threatens to sue on a time-barred debt violates Regulation F (12 C.F.R. § 1006.26(b)). A collector that sues you in a county where you do not live and did not sign the contract violates the FDCPA's venue rule (15 U.S.C. § 1692i(a)(2)). See zombie debt and sued in the wrong county.
If you have been sued, do not ignore the papers. The time to answer is short and is stated on the summons; count from the date you were served. The sued by a debt collector page explains the defenses and the counterclaims the FDCPA allows.
What to do now in New Jersey
- Identify who is collecting. The FDCPA covers third-party collectors, most debt buyers and collection law firms, not a lender collecting in its own name. See who is a debt collector.
- Dispute in writing within the validation period. A written dispute within 30 days of receiving the validation notice makes the collector stop until it mails verification (15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b); 12 C.F.R. § 1006.34).
- Log the calls. The call log flags more than 7 telephone calls in 7 days and calls outside 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
- Keep proof of any money lost. Receipts and bank records are what a Consumer Fraud Act claim needs to show an ascertainable loss.
Your deadlines to sue them
The federal clocks run the same in New Jersey: one year for the FDCPA, the earlier of two years from discovery or five years from the violation for the FCRA, and four years for the TCPA (15 U.S.C. §§ 1692k(d), 1681p; 28 U.S.C. § 1658(a)). The limitations period for a Consumer Fraud Act claim is not published here. See deadlines.
Common questions
Does New Jersey have its own version of the FDCPA?
New Jersey does not have a general state statute giving consumers a private lawsuit against collectors on the model of Florida's FCCPA, as far as this page has verified. New Jersey consumers sue collectors under the federal FDCPA, and in some cases under the Consumer Fraud Act.
Does the Consumer Fraud Act cover debt collection?
The Act gives a lawsuit to any person who suffers an ascertainable loss of money or property from an unlawful practice under the Act. Whether a particular collection practice is covered, and whether you lost money or property, depends on the facts. This page does not state a general rule; a lawyer can tell you whether your facts fit.
How long does a collector have to sue me in New Jersey?
Under current law, six years for contract claims (N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1). Bills to shorten the period or to stop a payment from reviving an old debt have been introduced in the Legislature, but none had been enacted as of September 2026 so far as we found.
Where will a collector sue me in New Jersey?
The FDCPA requires a collector's suit to be filed where you live or where you signed the contract. A suit filed in a county where neither is true can itself be an FDCPA violation.
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.