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15 U.S.C. § 1692d — Harassment or abuse
Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
A debt collector may not engage in any conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse any person in connection with the collection of a debt. Without limiting the general application of the foregoing, the following conduct is a violation of this section:
(1) The use or threat of use of violence or other criminal means to harm the physical person, reputation, or property of any person.
(2) The use of obscene or profane language or language the natural consequence of which is to abuse the hearer or reader.
(3) The publication of a list of consumers who allegedly refuse to pay debts, except to a consumer reporting agency or to persons meeting the requirements of section 1681a(f) or 1681b(3) 11 See References in Text note below. of this title.
(4) The advertisement for sale of any debt to coerce payment of the debt.
(5) Causing a telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass any person at the called number.
(6) Except as provided in [section 1692b of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title15-section1692b&num=0&edition=prelim), the placement of telephone calls without meaningful disclosure of the caller’s identity.
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 15 U.S.C. § 1692d
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Stable record: federal_law:legal_authorities:record_usc_083c3f5dcae45e2971c90923
Source file: Laws/federal/codes/united-states-code/title-15/section-1692d-harassment-or-abuse--7058da8fc1.md
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Source location: Title 15, Chapter 41, § 1692d; chapter-041-consumer-credit-protection.md
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A debt collector may not engage in any conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse any person in connection with the collection of a debt. Without limiting the general application of the foregoing, the following conduct is a violation of this section:
(1) The use or threat of use of violence or other criminal means to harm the physical person, reputation, or property of any person.
(2) The use of obscene or profane language or language the natural consequence of which is to abuse the hearer or reader.
(3) The publication of a list of consumers who allegedly refuse to pay debts, except to a consumer reporting agency or to persons meeting the requirements of section 1681a(f) or 1681b(3) 11 See References in Text note below. of this title.
(4) The advertisement for sale of any debt to coerce payment of the debt.
(5) Causing a telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone conversation repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass any person at the called number.
(6) Except as provided in [section 1692b of this title](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title15-section1692b&num=0&edition=prelim), the placement of telephone calls without meaningful disclosure of the caller’s identity.
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
Any debt collector communicating with any person other than the consumer for the purpose of acquiring location information about the consumer shall—
(1) identify himself, state that he is confirming or correcting location information concerning the consumer, and, only if expressly requested, identify his employer;
(2) not state that such consumer owes any debt;
(3) not communicate with any such person more than once unless requested to do so by such person or unless the debt collector reasonably believes that the earlier response of such person is erroneous or incomplete and that such person now has correct or complete location information;
(4) not communicate by post card;
(5) not use any language or symbol on any envelope or in the contents of any communication effected by the mails or telegram that indicates that the debt collector is in the debt collection business or that the communication relates to the collection of a debt; and
(6) after the debt collector knows the consumer is represented by an attorney with regard to the subject debt and has knowledge of, or can readily ascertain, such attorney’s name and address, not communicate with any person other than that attorney, unless the attorney fails to respond within a reasonable period of time to communication from the debt collector.
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 15 U.S.C. § 1692b
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
**(a) Abusive practices** There is abundant evidence of the use of abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices by many debt collectors. Abusive debt collection practices contribute to the number of personal bankruptcies, to marital instability, to the loss of jobs, and to invasions of individual privacy.
**(b) Inadequacy of laws** Existing laws and procedures for redressing these injuries are inadequate to protect consumers.
**(c) Available non-abusive collection methods** Means other than misrepresentation or other abusive debt collection practices are available for the effective collection of debts.
**(d) Interstate commerce** Abusive debt collection practices are carried on to a substantial extent in interstate commerce and through means and instrumentalities of such commerce. Even where abusive debt collection practices are purely intrastate in character, they nevertheless directly affect interstate commerce.
**(e) Purposes** It is the purpose of this subchapter to eliminate abusive debt collection practices by debt collectors, to insure that those debt collectors who refrain from using abusive debt collection practices are not competitively disadvantaged, and to promote consistent State action to protect consumers against debt collection abuses.
Source: Supplied U.S. Code snapshot — release unconfirmed · 15 U.S.C. § 1692
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Federal law — U.S. Code and appendices · legal_authorities
Page 1636
TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE
§ 1692c
1 See References in Text note below.
or can readily ascertain, such attorney’s name
and address, not communicate with any person
other than that attorney, unless the attorney
fails to respond within a reasonable period of
time to communication from the debt col-
lector.
(Pub. L. 90–321, title VIII, § 804, as added Pub. L.
95–109, Sept. 20, 1977, 91 Stat. 876.)
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
EFFECTIVE DATE
Section effective upon the expiration of six months
after Sept. 20, 1977, see section 819 of Pub. L. 90–321, as
added by Pub. L. 95–109, set out as a note under section
1692 of this title.
§ 1692c. Communication in connection with debt
collection
(a) Communication with the consumer generally
Without the prior consent of the consumer
given directly to the debt collector or the ex-
press permission of a court of competent juris-
diction, a debt collector may not communicate
with a consumer in connection with the collec-
tion of any debt—
(1) at any unusual time or place or a time or
place known or which should be known to be
inconvenient to the consumer. In the absence
of knowledge of circumstances to the con-
trary, a debt collector shall assume that the
convenient time for communicating with a
consumer is after 8 o’clock antemeridian and
before 9 o’clock postmeridian, local time at
the consumer’s location;
(2) if the debt collector knows the consumer
is represented by an attorney with respect to
such debt and has knowledge of, or can readily
ascertain, such attorney’s name and address,
unless the attorney fails to respond within a
reasonable period of time to a communication
from the debt collector or unless the attorney
consents to direct communication with the
consumer; or
(3)
Source: Supplied 2024 U.S. Code historical extraction · 15 U.S.C. § 1692d
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