Stopping Creditor Harassment

Aggressive collection tactics are unlawful under two important statutes: the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq., which applies to most third-party debt collectors and debt buyers; and the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA), Chapter 559, Part VI, Florida Statutes, which applies to both third-party collectors and the original creditors. Together these statutes give Miami consumers real tools to stop abusive collection and to recover damages and attorney's fees when collectors cross the line.

What the FDCPA and FCCPA Prohibit

• Calling before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. local time
• Calling repeatedly with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass
• Continuing to call after written request to stop (FDCPA) or after notice that the consumer is represented by counsel
• Calling a consumer at work after being told the employer prohibits such calls
• Communicating with third parties about the debt (other than to locate the consumer)
• Threatening lawsuit, arrest, garnishment, or other action the collector cannot legally take or does not intend to take
• Misrepresenting the amount or legal status of the debt
• Using profane or abusive language
• Failing to send written validation of the debt within five days of the first contact
• Collecting amounts not authorized by the underlying contract or statute

Remedies Available to Consumers

The FDCPA provides for:

• Actual damages – out-of-pocket losses and emotional-distress damages
• Statutory damages up to $1,000 per case
• Reasonable attorney's fees and costs paid by the violating collector (the consumer does not pay legal fees out of pocket)

The FCCPA provides similar remedies, with statutory damages up to $1,000 per case and recoverable attorney's fees. Many cases are brought under both statutes simultaneously.

Stopping the Calls Quickly

Several tools can stop the calls within days:

• Written cease-communication request under the FDCPA – the collector must stop all communication except to notify of certain limited actions
• Notice of representation by counsel – the collector must communicate only with your attorney
• Bankruptcy filing – the automatic stay stops all collection activity by all creditors instantly

Building a Case Against an Abusive Collector

Successful FDCPA and FCCPA cases are built on careful documentation. We typically ask clients to:

• Keep a written log of every call – date, time, number, and what was said
• Save every voicemail, text message, and letter
• Obtain phone records showing the volume and timing of calls
• Identify any third parties who received calls about the debt
• Preserve evidence of any work disruption or specific damages

Common Scenarios We Handle

• Continued calls after written request to stop
• Calls to family members, neighbors, or employers
• False threats of arrest or wage garnishment
• Collection of debts not actually owed (mistaken identity, paid debts, time-barred debts)
• Sewer service and default judgments by debt buyers
• Robocall violations under the TCPA
• Florida's "debt-collection harassment by communication" provisions in Section 559.72, Florida Statutes

Who Is Covered – and Who Is Not – By Each Statute

The FDCPA applies to "debt collectors," which the statute defines as persons whose principal business is the collection of debts owed to another, or who regularly collect debts owed to another. That generally includes third-party collection agencies, debt buyers (who purchase charged-off receivables for pennies on the dollar), collection law firms whose practice is principally collection, and certain repossession agents. The FDCPA does not apply to the original creditor collecting its own debt – for example, a credit-card issuer's in-house collection department is outside the FDCPA.

The FCCPA fills that gap. Section 559.72, Florida Statutes, applies to "any person" attempting to collect a consumer debt – original creditors, third-party collectors, debt buyers, attorneys, and others. As a practical matter, original creditors who cross the line in Florida face liability under the FCCPA even though the federal FDCPA does not reach them.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)

Separate from the FDCPA and FCCPA, the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227, regulates calls and text messages placed using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice. Statutory damages are $500 per call – or $1,500 per call for willful or knowing violations – and class certification is common when the same dialer is being used to call thousands of consumers. Robocalls and prerecorded-voice messages from collectors to cell phones are a frequent source of TCPA exposure. We routinely evaluate whether an FDCPA / FCCPA case also has a TCPA component.

Florida Section 559.72 in Detail

Florida's collection statute lists specific prohibited acts. Among the most commonly violated:

• Section 559.72(7) – willfully communicating with the debtor or any family member with such frequency as can reasonably be expected to harass the debtor
• Section 559.72(9) – claiming, attempting, or threatening to enforce a debt when the collector knows the debt is not legitimate or asserting the existence of a legal right the collector knows does not exist
• Section 559.72(18) – communicating with a debtor known to be represented by an attorney, except with the attorney's consent
• Section 559.72(10) – using profane, obscene, vulgar, or willfully abusive language
• Section 559.72(5) – disclosing the alleged debt to a person other than the debtor or the debtor's family
• Section 559.72(6) – disclosing information about the alleged debt that the collector knows is reasonably likely to be false

The statutory damages cap under Section 559.77 is $1,000 per case, plus actual damages (including emotional distress), punitive damages where intentional misconduct is shown, and reasonable attorney's fees and costs.

What Counts as Emotional Distress Damages

Courts in the Southern District of Florida and the Eleventh Circuit have allowed FDCPA and FCCPA plaintiffs to recover emotional distress damages without expert testimony where the harassment is sufficiently severe. The types of evidence that support emotional distress recovery include:

• Documented sleep disruption from late-night calls
• Anxiety and physical symptoms (chest pain, headaches, panic) tied in time to specific collector contacts
• Embarrassment from calls placed to neighbors, family members, or employers
• Avoidance of phone calls altogether – missing calls from doctors, schools, or family because of collector volume
• Lost work or work performance issues
• Medical or counseling records reflecting financial-stress complaints

The Validation Notice and the 30-Day Window

Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g, a debt collector must, within five days of initial communication with the consumer, send a written notice containing: the amount of the debt; the name of the creditor; a statement that the debt will be assumed valid unless the consumer disputes it within 30 days; a statement that, if the debt is disputed in writing within 30 days, the collector will obtain verification of the debt and mail it to the consumer; and a statement that the collector will, on request within 30 days, provide the name and address of the original creditor.

If you receive a collection letter, the 30-day window to dispute the debt in writing is one of the most important consumer-rights deadlines in federal law. A timely written dispute requires the collector to cease collection until verification is provided. Failure to provide adequate verification, or continuing collection without verification, is itself an FDCPA violation.

When Bankruptcy Is the Right Answer to Harassment

FDCPA and FCCPA litigation is the right tool for harassment by a specific collector on a specific account. When the harassment reflects underlying insolvency – multiple collectors, multiple accounts, lawsuits in progress, garnishments threatened – the right tool is often bankruptcy. The automatic stay under 11 U.S.C. § 362 imposes an immediate, court-enforced injunction against all collection activity by all creditors on all pre-petition debts. Calls stop. Lawsuits halt. Garnishments are released. The remedy is broader and faster than what any individual FDCPA action can deliver.

Importantly, an FDCPA or FCCPA claim that accrued before filing remains the property of the bankruptcy estate and can be pursued by the trustee or, with appropriate disclosure and exemption, by the debtor. Failing to schedule a known consumer-protection claim in the bankruptcy is a common and costly mistake; we evaluate every bankruptcy intake for potential affirmative claims that need to appear on Schedule A/B.

What to Do Right Now If Calls Are Out of Hand

1. Do not engage. Do not confirm the debt, do not agree to a payment, do not give the collector new financial information.
2. Document everything. Start a call log: date, time, number, who called, what they said. Save voicemails. Photograph or save texts. Keep every letter.
3. Identify the collector. Get the company name, the company address, and the name of the individual collector if possible.
4. Send a written cease-communication request if the collector is covered by the FDCPA, or have your attorney send a notice of representation that applies to FDCPA and FCCPA-covered collectors alike.
5. Pull your credit reports from all three bureaus to see what is being reported and by whom.
6. Call counsel – particularly if the collector has crossed any of the bright-line FDCPA / FCCPA rules listed above.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to pay the underlying debt to win the FDCPA case?

No. The FDCPA and FCCPA claims are independent of whether the underlying debt is valid. A consumer who admits owing money can still recover for harassment in the collection of that debt. In practice, the affirmative claim is often resolved together with the underlying debt – with the debt waived in addition to the statutory damages and fee payment.

What if I never received the validation notice?

The collector's failure to send a compliant validation notice within five days of initial communication is itself an FDCPA violation. The absence of a validation notice also means the consumer's 30-day dispute window never closed, which can be relevant to defenses in any underlying collection lawsuit.

What if the debt isn't even mine?

Mistaken-identity collection is one of the strongest categories of FDCPA / FCCPA case. Collectors are required to verify the debt, to refrain from communicating false information about it, and to stop collection if they cannot validate. Continued collection on a misidentified debt typically involves both FDCPA violations and Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) issues if the debt has been reported.

What about calls from law firms?

Collection law firms are debt collectors under the FDCPA and are covered. A letter from a law firm threatening suit on a time-barred debt, or threatening remedies the firm cannot legally pursue, is actionable.

What about post-bankruptcy collection attempts?

Collection on a discharged debt is a violation of the discharge injunction under 11 U.S.C. § 524. The remedy is contempt in the bankruptcy court rather than an FDCPA action, but the underlying conduct – calls, letters, lawsuits on discharged debt – mirrors the abuses covered by the FDCPA. We routinely handle discharge-injunction enforcement against collectors who fail to update their records after a client's case closes.

Schedule a Consultation

If a debt collector has crossed the line – or if you simply want the calls to stop – call 786-522-1411 or email [email protected]. Most FDCPA and FCCPA cases are handled on a contingent or fee-shifted basis, meaning you do not pay attorney's fees out of pocket if we recover. If the situation is broader than a single collector – multiple accounts, lawsuits, garnishments – the consultation will also address whether Chapter 7, Chapter 13, or debt settlement is the better answer.