Federal and state laws regulate the collection of debts. The
applicable federal law is the Fair Debt Collection Practices
Act, or FDCPA. The FDCPA governs the techniques a debt collector
may employ in the collection of a debt. The FDCPA does not apply
to those creditors who collect debts in-house or to government
employees whose job is to collect government debts, such as
student loans. Prohibited Debt Collection Practices A debt
collector is not allowed to violate a debtor's privacy or use
abusive or harassing collection tactics. A debt collector may
not: - Telephone a debtor before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. -
Telephone repeatedly as a form of harassment - Use obscene
language, make racial or religious slurs or comments about a
debtor's character - Contact a debtor at work if prohibited by
the debtor's employer or upon the debtor's request - Contact a
debtor when the debtor hires an attorney for debt collection
purposes - Claim that papers are legal papers when they are not
- Send forms that appear to be legal