Stage guide

The calls won't stop. Here is the count that makes them a violation.

Federal rules do not ban frequent calls outright — they draw a line you can count. More than 7 calls within 7 days about one specific debt is presumed harassment under Regulation F. Your job is not to endure the calls; it is to count them, in writing, dated.

Stage 1First letterThe 30-day window opens
Stage 2Calls & contactKnow the call rules
Stage 3The decision pointWeigh any offer with real math
Stage 4SuedYour answer deadline is running
Stage 5JudgmentThrow it out? Protect what's yours? Both have deadlines
Stage 6GarnishmentClaim what is protected
Stage 7Time-barred tailOld debt, new traps

The rule, precisely

12 CFR 1006.14(b)(2): a collector who calls more than 7 times within 7 consecutive days about a particular debt is presumed to violate the FDCPA's harassment ban; 7 or fewer is presumed compliant. The presumption can be rebutted — by them, with context — which is why your log should note content too: threats, calls after you asked for writing only, calls to your workplace after you said they are not allowed, calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. your time (prohibited by §1006.6(b) absent consent).

What a good log looks like

Date, time, number shown, who they said they were, what was said — in a notebook or a notes app, written the same day. Save every voicemail. Screenshot the call history. The kit's call log does the 7-in-7 counting for you and lays the record out the way a lawyer who fights collectors reads it.

When violations are worth money

The FDCPA lets a court award up to $1,000 in damages the law sets ('statutory damages') plus your real losses — and makes the collector pay your lawyer's fees (§1692k). That fee rule is why lawyers who fight collectors take strong, well-documented cases at no upfront cost. Anger without records is worth nothing; a dated log is a case. The free checker points you to the NACA directory when your answers describe this pattern.

Stopping the contact itself

A written stop-contact letter (§1692c(c)) forces them to stop communicating, with a few narrow exceptions. It does not erase a debt and does not prevent a lawsuit — send it in writing and keep proof of mailing. The first-letter guide covers which letter fits which stage.

Included in the $39 DebtDecoded Kit

  • The letter builder — answer a few questions and it writes your letters: the one that makes them prove the debt is yours, and the one that orders them to stop calling. Wording follows the federal rulebook (Regulation F). Ready to print and mail
  • The old-debt trap worksheet — checks your dates against your state's restart rule before you pay or sign anything, so one small payment can't quietly restart the clock on an old debt (the trap lawyers call 'revival')
  • The call log — counts their calls against the legal line: more than 7 calls in 7 days about one debt counts as harassment (12 CFR 1006.14(b)(2))
  • The 'what they can't take' pack — what a court judgment can and cannot take in your state, including the rule that shields two months of federal benefits sitting in your bank account (31 CFR Part 212)
  • The offer-math worksheet — what a 'deal' really costs once fees and the tax on the written-off part are counted (that tax shows up on Form 1099-C)
  • The complaint walkthrough and the honest directory — who to call instead when a free or better route fits you

One payment. Every stage of the road, and the deadline tables for all 50 states — every number with its law cited. No account, no subscription — and the free checker above stays free whether you buy or not.

Get the Kit — $39

DebtDecoded is education, not a law firm. If the checker points you to a free route — legal aid, a lawyer who fights debt collectors, a nonprofit counselor — take it. We would rather lose the sale than sell you the wrong tool.

Quick answers

They call from different numbers. Does the count still work?

The presumption counts calls about a particular debt, not calls from one number. Log the debt each call concerns; rotating numbers is itself worth noting in the log.

Can they call my job or my family?

Collectors generally may not discuss your debt with third parties, and must stop workplace calls once told the employer prohibits them. Note every such call in the log with the name of the person who received it.

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