The laws that make collectors pay
Five laws do most of the work. The FDCPA governs debt collectors, the FCRA governs credit reports, the TCPA governs robocalls and autodialed texts, and in Florida and New York the FCCPA and GBL 349 fill gaps the federal laws leave open. Each one sets its own damages, its own fee rule and its own deadline, and the shortest deadline is one year. This page explains what each law covers and compares them side by side.
Most people who are harassed by a collector, or who find a false account on a credit report, do not know that the law gives them a lawsuit. It does, and the lawsuit is built the same way every time: a statute says what the company may not do, sets damages the court can award even without proof of a dollar loss, and in most cases requires the company to pay the consumer's lawyer if the consumer wins. The differences between the laws are in the details: who is covered, what counts as a violation, how much the statutory damages are, and how long you have. This page is the map. Each section links to the page that goes into that law in full.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
The FDCPA (15 U.S.C. §§ 1692 to 1692p) is the law most people mean when they talk about collector harassment. It covers debt collectors: companies whose principal business is collecting debts, and anyone who regularly collects debts owed to someone else (15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)). That includes collection agencies, many debt buyers, and lawyers who regularly collect consumer debts (Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U.S. 291 (1995)). A bank or store collecting its own debt in its own name is generally outside it (Henson v. Santander Consumer USA Inc., 582 U.S. 79 (2017)). The debt must be a consumer debt: one incurred primarily for personal, family or household purposes (§ 1692a(5)).
The Act forbids harassment and abuse (§ 1692d), false or misleading statements (§ 1692e), and unfair practices such as collecting amounts the agreement does not authorize (§ 1692f(1)). It limits when and where a collector may contact you (§ 1692c), who else it may talk to (§§ 1692b, 1692c(b)), and it requires a written validation notice and a pause in collection when you dispute in writing (§ 1692g). If a collector sues you, it must sue where you live or where you signed the contract (§ 1692i).
A consumer who wins recovers actual damages, additional statutory damages of up to $1,000 per action, costs and a reasonable attorney's fee (§ 1692k(a)). The deadline is one year from the violation (§ 1692k(d)).
Since November 30, 2021, the CFPB's Regulation F (12 C.F.R. part 1006) spells out many of these rules in detail, including the presumption that more than 7 telephone calls in 7 days about one debt is harassment.
The FDCPA
Every section a collector can break, what each one means, and what a violation is worth under the statute.
The FDCPA →Regulation F
The 7-in-7 call presumption, the validation notice, texts, emails, social media and time-barred debt.
Regulation F →Who is a debt collector
Agencies, debt buyers, collection law firms, and when a lender becomes one.
Who is covered →The Fair Credit Reporting Act
The FCRA (15 U.S.C. §§ 1681 to 1681x) governs the companies that compile credit reports and background checks, and the lenders and collectors that send them information. A consumer reporting agency must follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy (§ 1681e(b)). When you dispute an item, the agency must reinvestigate within 30 days (§ 1681i(a)(1)), and the furnisher that reported it must investigate once the agency passes the dispute along (§ 1681s-2(b)). Nobody may pull your report without a permissible purpose (§ 1681b(f)).
The FCRA separates willful violations from negligent ones. For a willful violation you may recover actual damages or statutory damages of $100 to $1,000, plus punitive damages, costs and fees (§ 1681n(a)). For a negligent violation you recover actual damages, costs and fees (§ 1681o(a)). The deadline is the earlier of two years after you discover the violation or five years after it happened (§ 1681p).
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act
The TCPA (47 U.S.C. § 227) is about the equipment, not the debt. It forbids calls to a cell phone made with an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice without your prior express consent (§ 227(b)(1)(A)(iii)). It applies to collectors and original creditors alike, and to calls about debts that are not yours. Since Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, 592 U.S. 395 (2021), an "autodialer" means equipment that uses a random or sequential number generator, so most TCPA collection cases now turn on prerecorded or artificial voice messages.
Damages are $500 per violation, or up to $1,500 if the violation was willful or knowing (§ 227(b)(3)). The TCPA has no fee-shifting clause: the defendant is not required to pay your lawyer. The deadline is four years under the federal catch-all statute (28 U.S.C. § 1658(a)).
The FCRA
Accuracy, disputes, furnishers, permissible purpose, and the difference between willful and negligent.
The FCRA →The TCPA
Prerecorded messages, autodialed texts, consent and revoking it, and why there is no fee clause.
The TCPA →Every deadline
One table with each clock in New York, New Jersey and Florida, and when it starts.
Deadlines →State law: New York, New Jersey and Florida
State law matters most where federal law stops. The FDCPA does not cover a lender collecting its own debt. Florida's and New York's laws partly close that gap.
Florida: the FCCPA
The Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (Fla. Stat. §§ 559.55 to 559.785) says that "in collecting consumer debts, a person may not" do any of a long list of things (Fla. Stat. § 559.72). "A person" includes the original creditor. Remedies mirror the FDCPA, with statutory damages of up to $1,000, plus punitive damages in the court's discretion, costs and fees (§ 559.77(2)). There is a risk the federal law lacks: if the suit fails to raise a justiciable issue of law or fact, the consumer pays the defendant's fees. The deadline is two years (§ 559.77(4)).
New York: GBL 349 and the collection rules
New York's General Business Law § 349(h) lets anyone injured by a deceptive act or practice sue for actual damages or $50, whichever is greater. If the violation was willful or knowing, the court may increase the award up to three times actual damages, capped at $1,000, and may award fees to a prevailing plaintiff. It reaches any business, including an original creditor. New York also has a collection statute (GBL § 601) enforced by the Attorney General and district attorneys, a state rule for third-party collectors and debt buyers (23 NYCRR 1), New York City rules (6 RCNY 5-77), and a three-year limit on consumer credit suits against you (CPLR 214-i).
New Jersey
New Jersey consumers rely mainly on the federal laws. The New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (N.J.S.A. 56:8-19) awards treble damages and fees to a person who suffers an ascertainable loss from an unlawful practice; whether a given collection practice fits that Act is a question for the New Jersey page.
New York law
GBL 349, GBL 601, the DFS and NYC rules, and the Consumer Credit Fairness Act.
New York →New Jersey law
The federal claims, the Consumer Fraud Act, and the six-year limit on debt suits.
New Jersey →Florida law
The FCCPA reaches original creditors, the calling-hours rule, and the defense-fee risk.
Florida →The five laws side by side
The table compares the private lawsuit under each law. Statutory damages are amounts the court may award without proof of a dollar loss; they are ceilings or set figures in the statute, not estimates of what any case is worth.
| Law | Who is covered | What it prohibits | Statutory damages | Fees to a winning consumer | Deadline to sue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FDCPA 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq. | Third-party collectors, most debt buyers, collection lawyers; not creditors using their own name | Harassment, false statements, unfair practices, contact rules, validation | Up to $1,000 per action; class cap the lesser of $500,000 or 1% of net worth | Required (§ 1692k(a)(3)) | 1 year from the violation |
| FCRA 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. | Credit bureaus, background check companies, furnishers, anyone who pulls a report | Inaccurate reporting, failed reinvestigations, impermissible pulls | Willful: actual or $100 to $1,000, plus punitive damages; negligent: actual only | Required (§§ 1681n, 1681o) | Earlier of 2 years from discovery or 5 years from the violation |
| TCPA 47 U.S.C. § 227 | Anyone who places the call, including creditors | Autodialed or prerecorded calls to a cell phone without consent | $500 per violation; up to $1,500 if willful or knowing | None: no fee-shifting clause | 4 years (28 U.S.C. § 1658(a)) |
| FCCPA Fla. Stat. § 559.55 et seq. | Any person collecting a consumer debt, including the original creditor | Harassment, false threats, contact rules, calling hours, third-party disclosure | Up to $1,000, plus punitive damages; class cap the lesser of $500,000 or 1% of net worth | Required; consumer may owe defense fees if no justiciable issue | 2 years from the violation |
| GBL 349 N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 349(h) | Any business in New York | Deceptive acts or practices | Actual damages or $50; up to 3 times actual, capped at $1,000, if willful | Discretionary ("may") | 3 years (CPLR 214(2)) |
Sources: 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692k(a), (d); 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681n, 1681o, 1681p; 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(3); 28 U.S.C. § 1658(a); Fla. Stat. § 559.77(2), (4); N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 349(h); N.Y. CPLR 214(2); Gaidon v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of America, 96 N.Y.2d 201 (2001).
How the laws stack
One set of facts often breaks several laws. A collector that leaves prerecorded messages on your cell phone after you told it in writing to stop, and then reports the debt to a bureau without saying you dispute it, may have violated the TCPA (§ 227(b)(1)(A)(iii)), the FDCPA (§§ 1692c(c), 1692e(8)) and, in Florida, the FCCPA, all in one lawsuit. The what you get page explains how the damages under each law are counted, and who pays your lawyer explains the fee rules.
If a collector has sued you
These laws are also defenses and counterclaims. If you have been sued on a debt, do not ignore the papers: the time to answer is short, and a default judgment can lead to a frozen bank account or garnished wages. The sued by a debt collector page explains the answer, the common defenses, and the counterclaims these laws allow.
Common questions
Which law applies to my situation?
It depends on who did what. A third-party collector or debt buyer is covered by the FDCPA. A credit bureau, or a lender that reported false information after a dispute, is covered by the FCRA. Robocalls and autodialed texts to a cell phone fall under the TCPA. In Florida the FCCPA also covers the original lender. In New York, GBL 349 can reach deceptive conduct by anyone doing business in the state. Often more than one law applies to the same conduct.
Can I sue under more than one law at once?
Yes. One lawsuit can bring claims under several laws when the facts support each. A collector that called a cell phone with a prerecorded message after being told to stop, and then reported the debt without marking it disputed, may have violated the FDCPA, the TCPA and the FCRA at once. Each claim has its own damages and its own deadline.
Do these laws cover business debts?
No. The FDCPA and the FCCPA cover consumer debts, meaning debts incurred primarily for personal, family or household purposes. A merchant cash advance or other business obligation is outside them. The TCPA and the FCRA are not limited to consumer debts in the same way, but the collection laws are.
What is the shortest deadline?
The FDCPA's one year, which runs from the date of the violation, not from the date you found out about it. The Supreme Court held in Rotkiske v. Klemm that there is no general discovery rule. Each violation starts its own clock, so a recent call can still be sued on even if earlier ones are too old.
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.