Debt Collectors Have Rules. When They Break Them, You Have Options.
Most people who are being contacted by a debt collector assume the collector can do pretty much whatever it wants. Call at any hour. Threaten whatever it needs to threaten. Say whatever gets you to pay. That’s not how the law works. Debt collectors in Missouri, and across the country, are bound by a federal law called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or FDCPA. It sets firm limits on what collectors can and can’t do, and when they cross those lines, you have the right to fight back.
The FDCPA was passed by Congress to protect consumers from abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices. It applies to third-party debt collectors and debt buyers, meaning the companies that purchase old debts for pennies on the dollar and then try to collect them. If a collector has harassed you, lied to you, threatened you with things they can’t actually do, or contacted you in ways that violate the law, you may have a claim against them. In some cases, that claim can result in the collector paying you money.
At Boevingloh & Pliakos, we’ve spent over 20 years representing Missouri consumers in collection cases. We’re very familiar with the tactics debt buyers and their law firms use, and we know when those tactics cross legal lines. If you think your rights may have been violated, call us for a free phone consultation. We’ll review what happened and tell you honestly whether you have a case worth pursuing.
FDCPA claims can often be brought alongside a debt defense case, or even as a counterclaim within a collection lawsuit that’s already been filed against you. In many situations, pursuing an FDCPA claim costs you nothing upfront. We’ll explain how the fee structure works when we talk.
Key Takeaways
- The FDCPA is a federal law that limits what debt collectors and debt buyers can do when trying to collect a debt from you.
- Violations include harassment, false or misleading statements, illegal threats, and attempting to collect time-barred debts without proper disclosure.
- If a collector violates the FDCPA, you may be entitled to actual damages plus up to $1,000 in additional statutory damages per individual claim.
- FDCPA claims can be filed as counterclaims within an existing collection lawsuit, meaning you may be able to fight back in the same case.
- There is a one-year statute of limitations under the FDCPA, so acting quickly matters.
What Is the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is a federal consumer protection law that governs the conduct of debt collectors. It was passed by Congress in the late 1970s after lawmakers found widespread evidence of abusive, deceptive, and unfair collection practices harming consumers across the country. The law gives consumers clear rights and gives collectors clear limits.
The FDCPA applies to personal debts, meaning debts incurred for personal, family, or household purposes. This includes credit card debt, medical bills, auto loans, mortgages, and similar consumer accounts. Business debts are generally not covered. The law applies to third-party collectors, which means companies or individuals collecting a debt on behalf of someone else, as well as debt buyers who have purchased the debt outright. Original creditors collecting their own debt directly are generally not covered by the FDCPA, though Missouri has its own consumer protection statutes that may apply in those situations.
Why the FDCPA Matters for Debt Buyer Cases
A large portion of the collection lawsuits filed in Missouri involve debt buyers, companies like LVNV Funding, Midland Funding, and Portfolio Recovery Associates, that purchase old defaulted accounts for a fraction of their face value. These companies and the law firms they hire to file suit are absolutely covered by the FDCPA. This matters because debt buyers are among the most frequent violators of the law. Their business model depends on volume, and high-volume collection operations often cut corners on compliance.
What Does an FDCPA Violation Actually Look Like?
FDCPA violations range from aggressive harassment to subtle deception. Some are obvious. Others are buried in the fine print of a collection letter or disguised as routine procedure. Here are the most common types of violations we see.
Harassment and Abuse
The FDCPA prohibits collectors from harassing, oppressing, or abusing any person in connection with collecting a debt. This includes making repeated phone calls with the intent to annoy or harass, using obscene or profane language, and threatening violence. It also prohibits calling at unreasonable times, which under the FDCPA means before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in your local time zone, unless you’ve agreed otherwise.
False or Misleading Statements
Collectors cannot misrepresent the character, amount, or legal status of a debt. They cannot claim to be attorneys if they are not. They cannot imply they are government officials or employees of a credit reporting agency. They cannot threaten legal action they don’t actually intend to take, and they cannot tell you that failure to pay will result in your arrest. These kinds of threats are illegal regardless of how convincingly they’re delivered.
Attempting to Collect Time-Barred Debt
When debt is very old, it may be past the statute of limitations, meaning the collector can no longer legally sue you to collect it. Debt buyers frequently purchase old accounts and pursue them anyway, sometimes without disclosing that the debt is time-barred. Attempting to collect on a time-barred debt, or threatening to sue on one, can violate the FDCPA. This is a common issue in Missouri given that the statute of limitations on consumer debt can be as short as five years from the last payment.
Improper Contact and Communication
Collectors are prohibited from contacting you at work if they know your employer disapproves. They cannot contact third parties, like your family members or neighbors, about your debt except in very limited circumstances to locate you. If you notify a collector in writing that you refuse to pay or want them to stop contacting you, they must cease communication except to inform you that collection efforts are ending or that a specific legal remedy will be pursued. Once you have an attorney representing you, all communication must go through your attorney, not directly to you.
Failure to Validate the Debt
Within five days of first contacting you, a debt collector is required to send you a written validation notice stating the amount of the debt, the name of the creditor, and your right to dispute the debt within 30 days. If you dispute the debt in writing within that 30-day window, the collector must stop collection efforts until they verify the debt and send you proof. Many collectors skip or mishandle this step entirely, which can be its own FDCPA violation.
What Can You Recover for an FDCPA Violation?
If a debt collector violates the FDCPA, the law gives you the right to sue them. What you can recover depends on the type of claim you bring.
Individual Claims
In an individual FDCPA lawsuit, you can recover actual damages, meaning real financial harm you suffered as a result of the violation. You can also recover statutory damages of up to $1,000 per lawsuit, regardless of whether you can prove actual harm. This statutory damages provision is important because many FDCPA violations cause more stress and frustration than direct financial loss. The law recognizes that and still allows recovery. You can also recover attorney fees and court costs if you win, which is one reason these cases are often taken on a contingency basis.
Class Action Claims
When the same violation was directed at a large group of people, the case may qualify as a class action. In an FDCPA class action, statutory damages are capped at the lesser of $500,000 or one percent of the debt collector’s net worth, divided among all class members. If you believe a collector’s illegal conduct affected many people, not just you, a class action may be the better path. We evaluate every FDCPA case for class action potential.
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How Does the FDCPA Work With a Collection Lawsuit?
One of the things many consumers don’t realize is that an FDCPA claim doesn’t have to be a separate lawsuit. If a debt collector has already sued you, and their conduct in pursuing that lawsuit violated the FDCPA, we can file an FDCPA counterclaim right within the same case. This turns the dynamic around. Instead of just defending yourself, you’re now asserting claims against the collector. That changes the leverage significantly.
This is one of the more powerful tools we have in debt defense cases. A collector who knows they’ve violated the FDCPA is much more likely to dismiss the collection case entirely rather than risk a judgment against them for statutory damages plus your attorney fees. We review every collection case we handle for FDCPA violations, because they’re more common than most people think.
The One-Year Deadline You Need to Know About
The FDCPA has a strict statute of limitations. You have one year from the date the violation occurred to file a claim. That’s it. Miss that window and your claim is almost certainly gone, regardless of how clear the violation was.
This is why it’s important to reach out as soon as possible if you believe a collector has violated your rights. The sooner we can review what happened, the more options we have. If the violation is recent, we have time to build the strongest possible case. If it’s been a while, we need to know right away whether you’re still within the window.
Frequently Asked Questions About FDCPA Claims in Missouri
Q. Does the FDCPA apply to the original credit card company?
Generally, no. The FDCPA applies to third-party debt collectors and debt buyers, not to original creditors collecting their own debt. However, if a credit card company hires a collection agency or sells the debt to a debt buyer, those third parties are covered. Missouri also has its own consumer protection laws that may apply to original creditors in some situations.
Q. A debt collector keeps calling me multiple times a day. Is that a violation?
It can be. The FDCPA prohibits collectors from contacting you with the intent to annoy, harass, or abuse. Repeated calls in a short period, particularly if they continue after you’ve asked them to stop, can support an FDCPA harassment claim. Document every call with the date, time, and what was said, and contact us to review what you have.
Q. A collector told me I could be arrested if I don’t pay. Is that legal?
No. Threatening arrest for an unpaid consumer debt is a clear FDCPA violation. You cannot be arrested simply for failing to pay a credit card bill or other consumer debt. If a collector made this threat, document it and contact us immediately. This is exactly the kind of violation the FDCPA was designed to address.
Q. I already have a collection lawsuit filed against me. Can I still bring an FDCPA claim?
Yes. FDCPA counterclaims can be filed within an existing collection lawsuit. If the collector or their attorneys violated the FDCPA in the process of suing you, we can assert those claims in the same case. This is actually one of the most effective tools we use in debt defense cases.
Q. What if the debt is real but the collector still violated the law?
The FDCPA applies regardless of whether you actually owe the debt. Even if you owe every penny, collectors still have to follow the law when they come after you. A valid underlying debt does not give a collector license to harass, threaten, or deceive you. The violation and the debt are two separate issues.
Q. How much does it cost to bring an FDCPA claim?
In most FDCPA cases, we work on a contingency basis, meaning no upfront cost to you. The FDCPA requires the defendant to pay your attorney fees if you win, which makes these cases financially viable even when your individual damages are modest. We’ll explain the fee arrangement clearly during your free consultation.
Q. What’s the difference between an FDCPA claim and a debt defense case?
A debt defense case means we’re defending you against a collection lawsuit someone filed against you. An FDCPA claim means you’re asserting your own rights against a collector who violated the law. These two things often happen in the same case, and we handle both. If you’ve been sued and the collector broke the law in the process, we can pursue both strategies at the same time.
Q. How long do I have to file an FDCPA claim?
One year from the date of the violation. This deadline is strict, and missing it will almost certainly bar your claim. If you believe a collector has violated your rights, don’t wait. Contact us as soon as possible so we can evaluate whether you’re still within the window and what your options are.
Q. Can a collector contact my family members about my debt?
Only in very limited circumstances, and only to locate you if they don’t have your contact information. Even then, they cannot tell a third party that you owe a debt. Contacting family members, neighbors, or your employer to discuss the debt itself is generally a violation of the FDCPA.
Related Practice Areas
FDCPA claims often come up alongside other consumer law issues we handle. If your situation involves more than just a single violation, we can look at the full picture.
If a debt collector has violated your rights against a large group of people, the case may qualify as a class action. We evaluate every FDCPA case for class potential.
If you’ve been personally sued by a debt collector, our consumer debt defense services address the collection case directly while we look for FDCPA violations at the same time.
FDCPA violations tied to false credit reporting may also give rise to credit report problems claims that we can pursue alongside your FDCPA case.
For a broader overview of how we protect Missouri consumers against debt collectors, visit our debt defense practice overview.
Ready To Talk About What Happened?
If a debt collector has contacted you in a way that felt wrong, threatening, relentless, or just off, it’s worth a conversation. You may have more rights than you realize, and in some cases those rights come with real financial recovery.
We know that dealing with debt collectors is stressful on its own. When they cross legal lines, it adds a layer of anger and frustration on top of an already difficult situation. Our job is to cut through that, tell you clearly what the law says, and let you know whether what happened to you was a violation worth pursuing.
Here’s what you can expect when you call us. We answer the phone. You’ll talk to someone who knows the FDCPA and who handles these cases regularly in Missouri courts. We offer a free phone consultation, and if it makes sense to move forward, we’ll explain the fee structure, which in most FDCPA cases means no upfront cost to you. We’ll also look at whether your situation involves other issues, like an active collection lawsuit or a credit report error, and make sure we’re addressing the full picture.
We’ve handled thousands of collection-related cases in Missouri over more than 20 years. We know how these companies operate, and we know how to hold them accountable when they step out of line.
Call us at 314.989.1492 or toll free at 1.800.989.1492. Our office is located in Clayton, just steps from the courthouse. You can also reach us through the contact form on this site. Given the one-year statute of limitations under the FDCPA, the sooner you get in touch, the better.
Boevingloh & Pliakos serves clients in virtually every county across Missouri. Wherever you are in the state, we’re ready to help.
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