Can Debt Collectors Call Your Family?
- Debt collectors are allowed to contact your family to find out your phone number, address, or place of work.
- They aren't allowed to tell your family about your debts—with the exception of your spouse.
- Debt collectors can talk to your spouse about your debt openly, including disclosing balances.
Table of Contents
Between calls and letters, debt collectors can really get under your skin. It's even more annoying when they start reaching out to your friends and family trying to find you.
While it might feel illegal, debt collectors aren’t actually breaking any rules when they call your friends, family, or even your coworkers. However, there are limits to what a debt collector can say to your family when they call.
You also have ways to fight back if debt collectors break those rules. Let's start with what's allowed—and what's not.
Debt Collectors and the FDCPA
The law that regulates what debt collectors can (and can't) do is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA. This is a set of rules that applies to debt collectors or to debt buyers that primarily collect debt. (These rules won't apply to original creditors, such as a credit card company or bank.)
According to the FDCPA, debt collectors can't:
Contact you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m unless you give them permission
Call you more than seven times within a seven-day period for any given debt
Call you again within seven days once they've discussed your debt with you by telephone
Contact you at work if you tell them you're not allowed to get calls there
Contact you via email or text message if you tell them to stop
Post about your debt on social media
Message you privately on social media if you tell them not to
Threaten to hurt you if you don't pay
Threaten you with jail time
Use profane language when discussing your debt
Lie about the debt you owe
Say they’re suing you if they aren't actually planning to do so
Pretend to be law enforcement or a government agency
You have a lot of power over when and how debt collectors can contact you. One thing to notice: the FDCPA doesn't say anything about debt collectors not being allowed to contact your family. And there's a reason for that: it's actually legal, to a point.
When Debt Collectors Can Contact Your Family
Debt collectors are allowed to contact your family members in order to get in touch with you. This means the debt collector can ask for your phone number or address or ask about where you work.
Debt collectors aren’t allowed to tell your family members about your debt. They can't say you're in debt, discuss your balances, or ask your family members to pay your outstanding debts.
There’s one big exception: your spouse. If you're married, debt collectors can speak openly with your spouse about your debts, including the balances, original creditors, and any plan for repayment.
That's one reason it's smart to be upfront with your spouse about any money troubles. Discussing debt as a couple could help you better come up with a plan of action so you can work toward joint financial goals together. It also helps prevent unpleasant surprises if they get a call from a debt collector about a debt you never disclosed.
What to Do If Debt Collectors Break the Law
You have options if you feel a debt collector has violated your rights or the FDCPA. You can:
File a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
File a complaint with your state attorney general
Hire an attorney to sue the debt collector under the FDCPA
If you sue the debt collector and win, the debt collector could be required to pay damages and your attorney's fees.
How to Get Debt Collectors to Stop Calling for Good
You can get debt collectors to stop contacting you completely by sending a cease and desist letter requesting all contact stop. (You could ask by phone, but you need to send it in writing for it to be legally binding.) This is your right under the FDCPA.
Making debt collectors stop calling might not be the best idea. This move is generally only recommended if:
You're certain the debt doesn't belong to you
The debt is past the statute of limitations (meaning you can't be sued to collect)
If the debt is yours and still within the statute of limitations, ending communication could be a bad move. When a debt collector runs out of other options, a lawsuit could be on the table. If you're sued over the debt and lose, you could face consequences like frozen assets or wage garnishment.
Before it gets to that point, consider other ways to get rid of the debt. You could try debt settlement, where you or a professional debt relief company negotiate to settle your debt for less than you owe. You might also consider bankruptcy if you have few assets or are at risk of foreclosure.
You don't need to deal with debt collectors forever. Freedom Debt Relief offers free consultations to find out if debt settlement is the right move.
Author Information
Written by
Brittney Myers
Brittney is a personal finance expert and credit card collector who believes financial education is the key to success. Her advice on how to make smarter financial decisions has been featured by major publications and read by millions.
Reviewed by
Kimberly Rotter
Kimberly Rotter is a financial counselor and consumer credit expert who helps people with average or low incomes discover how to create wealth and opportunities. She’s a veteran writer and editor who has spent more than 30 years creating thousands of hours of educational content in every possible format.
How to get debt collectors to stop calling my family?
You might be shocked if a collection agency contacts your loved ones, but collection agencies are legally allowed to do this. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) allows debt collectors to contact people you know to find your address, phone number, or workplace. Collection agencies might track down your relatives or friends on social media or via sites that publish addresses and phone numbers.
There are limits on what a collection agency can say to your family. Unless a collection agency is contacting your spouse, your executor, guardian, administrator, or attorney (or your parents, if you're a minor), debt collectors can't disclose that they are calling about a debt. Debt collectors also can't disclose that they are working for a collection agency unless your relative or friend asks them who they work for.
Debt collectors can't ask your loved ones to pay your debt. They can't threaten to tell your family about the debt to shame you into paying it. And they can't continue to call your family once they have made contact. All of those tactics are illegal, and you can sue if a debt collector breaks the law.
How can debt collectors contact you?
Debt collectors can call you only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. unless you permit them to call you at other times, but they can't harass you. If you get multiple calls a day, or threatening calls, then tell the debt collector you know your rights and report them to your state's attorney general. If you are being contacted by debt collectors, there are ways to stop collection calls.
Does enrolling in a debt relief program stop collection calls?
No. A debt relief company can’t make your creditors stop trying to collect. If you stop making payments to save for a debt settlement offer, your primary creditors will probably call you. Some may agree to hold off on suing you if they know you’re in a debt settlement program.
Once you or your debt settlement company reaches a settlement with your creditor, the debt is behind you and you won’t get collection calls about it again.
You can stop calls from debt collectors by asking them to stop and following up with a cease-and-desist letter. If a debt collector continues to call after that, it's a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and you could sue the collection agency for damages. The rule doesn't apply to the original creditor. In many states, your original creditor can call you whether you like it or not.