Who pays your lawyer
Under the FDCPA, the FCRA and Florida's FCCPA, a company found liable must pay the consumer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs, on top of the damages. New York's GBL 349 lets the court award fees to a winning consumer. The TCPA has no fee clause. Fee shifting depends on winning, and a few narrow rules can make a consumer pay the other side's fees for a bad-faith or baseless claim.
Most consumers cannot pay a lawyer by the hour to sue over a statutory damages claim capped at $1,000. Fee-shifting is the answer written into these laws: when the company loses, it pays the consumer's lawyer, in an amount the court finds reasonable. That is the mechanism behind the message on this site. It is also a rule with conditions, and this page explains them plainly, including where it does not apply and when it can run the other way.
The fee rule in each statute
The FDCPA
In any successful action, the collector is liable for "the costs of the action, together with a reasonable attorney's fee as determined by the court" (15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a)(3)). The FDCPA requires a company found liable to pay the consumer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs. The fee is separate from the damages: it is not taken out of the up to $1,000 in statutory damages.
The FCRA
Both willful and negligent violations carry, in a successful action, "the costs of the action together with reasonable attorney's fees as determined by the court" (15 U.S.C. §§ 1681n(a)(3), 1681o(a)(2)). The FCRA requires a company found liable to pay the consumer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs.
Florida's FCCPA
A person who violates § 559.72 is liable for damages "together with court costs and reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the plaintiff" (Fla. Stat. § 559.77(2)). The FCCPA requires a company found liable to pay the consumer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs.
New York's GBL 349
"The court may award reasonable attorney's fees to a prevailing plaintiff" (N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 349(h)). The word is "may": the award is in the court's discretion, not automatic.
The TCPA
The TCPA's private remedy provides statutory damages of $500 per violation, up to $1,500 if willful or knowing, and an injunction (47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(3)). It has no fee-shifting clause. A consumer who wins a TCPA-only case is not entitled to have the caller pay the lawyer under that statute.
| Statute | Fees to a winning consumer | When the consumer can owe fees |
|---|---|---|
| FDCPA | Required (§ 1692k(a)(3)) | Court finds the action was brought in bad faith and for the purpose of harassment (§ 1692k(a)(3)) |
| FCRA | Required (§§ 1681n(a)(3), 1681o(a)(2)) | An unsuccessful pleading, motion or paper filed in bad faith or for harassment: fees for responding to it (§§ 1681n(c), 1681o(b)) |
| FCCPA (FL) | Required (§ 559.77(2)) | The suit fails to raise a justiciable issue of law or fact (§ 559.77(2)) |
| GBL 349 (NY) | Discretionary (§ 349(h)) | No clause in § 349(h) |
| TCPA | None | No clause in § 227(b)(3) |
The conditions
- You have to win. The FDCPA and FCRA say "successful action." Fees follow a judgment or a settlement that includes them; a case that is lost does not produce a fee award for the consumer.
- The court sets the amount. The statutes say "reasonable." A judge reviews the hours and rates and can cut them.
- Settlements deal with fees too. If a case settles, the defendant's payment of fees is negotiated as part of the terms.
- Costs are separate. Filing fees and case expenses are handled as the retainer says, and a winning consumer can recover costs under the statutes above.
When it can run the other way
These laws are written for consumers, but each has a safety valve against abuse, and an honest explanation includes them.
Florida's defense-fee clause
Under Fla. Stat. § 559.77(2), "if the court finds that the suit fails to raise a justiciable issue of law or fact, the plaintiff is liable for court costs and reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the defendant." That is a real risk in a Florida FCCPA case with no factual basis. It is the reason we build claims on records: dated call logs, saved voicemails, letters and screenshots.
Under the FDCPA, the court may award the collector fees "on a finding by the court that an action under this section was brought in bad faith and for the purpose of harassment" (§ 1692k(a)(3)). Both conditions are required. Under the FCRA, if an unsuccessful pleading, motion or other paper was filed in bad faith or for purposes of harassment, the court shall award the prevailing party the fees reasonably spent responding to that paper (§§ 1681n(c), 1681o(b)). That rule applies to either side.
A consumer with a documented claim, brought in good faith, does not fall within these provisions. They exist for claims that are invented or filed to harass.
How our fee works
How our fee works is confirmed in a written retainer before we begin. The retainer sets out the fee arrangement for your case, who advances court filing fees and case expenses, and how fees paid by the defendant are handled. We explain it before you sign, and we answer questions about it in writing if you want. An attorney-client relationship begins only when we and you sign that retainer.
We do not promise an outcome, and no statute makes fee recovery automatic. What the statutes do is require the company found liable, under the FDCPA, FCRA and FCCPA, to pay the consumer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs. That is what lets consumers bring these cases.
Fees when a collector sued you first
If a collector has sued you, FDCPA violations in how it collected, or in the lawsuit itself, can be raised as counterclaims, and the statute's fee rule can apply to them. Do not ignore the papers; the answer deadline is short. See sued by a debt collector.
In New York, New Jersey and Florida
The federal fee rules apply in all three states. Florida's FCCPA shifts fees to the consumer's side and carries the defense-fee risk above. New York's GBL 349 lets the court award fees. New Jersey's Consumer Fraud Act says the court "shall also award reasonable attorneys' fees, filing fees and reasonable costs of suit" in actions under N.J.S.A. 56:8-19, where the Act applies. See New York, New Jersey and Florida.
Common questions
If I win, does the collector pay my lawyer?
Under the FDCPA, the FCRA and the FCCPA, yes: the statute requires a company found liable to pay the consumer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs, in an amount the court sets. Under GBL 349 the court may award fees. The TCPA has no fee clause. In a settlement, fees are usually negotiated as part of the deal.
What if I lose?
Losing does not by itself make you pay the other side's lawyer under these statutes. There are narrow exceptions: under the FDCPA if the court finds the action was brought in bad faith and to harass; under the FCRA for an unsuccessful paper filed in bad faith or to harass; and under Florida's FCCPA if the suit fails to raise a justiciable issue of law or fact. A claim built on real records is the safeguard.
What will I pay your firm?
How our fee works is confirmed in a written retainer before we begin. The retainer explains the fee, who pays court filing fees and case expenses, and what happens to fees the defendant pays. Read it, ask questions, and sign only when it is clear.
Why does the TCPA not shift fees?
Because Congress did not put a fee clause in it. Instead the TCPA sets statutory damages per call, $500 or up to $1,500 if willful or knowing. That is why TCPA claims are often brought together with FDCPA, FCCPA or FCRA claims, or as class actions.
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.