This is one of the procedures covered in Florida consumer protection laws and how to enforce them. Two laws govern debt collector calls to Florida residents: the state Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA) and the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). This article covers when a collector may call, how to require the calls to stop, and what a debtor can recover when a collector ignores the rules.
Which collectors these laws cover
The two laws reach different sets of collectors, and the difference matters in Florida.
The FDCPA is a federal law that applies only to third-party debt collectors and debt buyers, companies collecting a debt that originated with someone else. Under the FTC’s debt collection rules, the original creditor collecting its own account in its own name is generally outside the FDCPA.
Florida’s law is broader. Fla. Stat. § 559.72 says that “in collecting consumer debts, a person may not” engage in the practices it lists. “A person” includes original creditors, not just outside agencies, so a Florida consumer often has state-law protection against a bank or lender that a federal claim would not cover. Both laws apply to debts taken on for personal, family, or household purposes, not business debts.
When a collector is allowed to call
Florida sets a hard nighttime cutoff. Under Fla. Stat. § 559.72(17), a collector may not communicate with a debtor between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. in the debtor’s time zone without the debtor’s prior consent. The collector is allowed to assume the time zone tied to the area code it is calling unless it has reason to know the phone is somewhere else.
Federal law frames the same idea as a presumption. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a)(1), a collector may not contact a consumer at an unusual or known-inconvenient time or place, and the hours between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. local time are presumed convenient. A collector also may not call you at work once it knows your employer prohibits such calls.
Frequency has its own limit. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Regulation F presumes that a collector has harassed a consumer if it places more than seven phone calls within a seven-day period, or calls within seven days after speaking with the consumer about the debt. Florida adds its own frequency rule in Fla. Stat. § 559.72(7), which bars willfully communicating “with such frequency as can reasonably be expected to harass” the debtor or the debtor’s family.
How to make the calls stop
The most direct tool is a written request to cease communication. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c), once a consumer notifies a third-party collector in writing that they refuse to pay the debt or want the collector to stop contacting them, the collector must stop, with narrow exceptions described below. The CFPB provides sample letters and guidance for putting the request in writing.
Confirm who is calling
Ask the caller for the name of the collection company, its address, and the name of the original creditor. A collector must identify itself on request under Florida law, and knowing the company’s real name is what lets you send an enforceable written notice.
Send a written cease-communication request
Write a short letter or email stating that you want the collector to stop contacting you. Reference the account and keep it factual. A mailed letter sent with proof of delivery creates a record of the date the collector received it.
Keep a copy and a call log
Save a copy of the letter and the delivery receipt. Log every later call with the date, time, and number. Calls that arrive after the collector received your request are the evidence that supports a claim.
Tell the collector if you have a lawyer
If an attorney represents you on the debt, give the collector the lawyer’s name and address. Under
Fla. Stat. § 559.72(18), a collector generally may not contact a represented debtor directly once it knows, or can readily find out, who the attorney is.
What a collector can still do after you say stop
A written request stops the calls, but it does not erase the debt or end every form of contact.
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c), a collector that has been told to stop may still send one final notice, for example, to say it is ending contact or that it intends to pursue a specific remedy such as filing a lawsuit. The collector can also still report the debt to credit bureaus and, if the debt is valid and within the time limit, sue to collect it.
Stopping contact is a separate question from whether the debt is valid. A consumer who disputes the amount can send a written dispute, which triggers verification duties on the collector’s side and is covered along with the other prohibited practices in Florida’s debt collection law under the FCCPA.
When the calls cross into illegal harassment
Florida law lists specific conduct that a collector may not use no matter how much is owed. Fla. Stat. § 559.72 prohibits, among other things, using or threatening violence, using profane or willfully abusive language, calling with a frequency meant to harass, claiming a debt the collector knows is not legitimate, and calling before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
When a collector breaks those rules, Florida gives the debtor a private lawsuit. Under Fla. Stat. § 559.77, a person who violates § 559.72 is liable for the debtor’s actual damages plus additional statutory damages the court may allow up to $1,000, together with court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. The court weighs how serious, frequent, and intentional the violations were.
Federal law offers a parallel remedy: the FDCPA also allows a consumer to sue for actual damages plus statutory damages up to $1,000, plus costs and attorney’s fees. A Florida debtor can often raise both claims from the same set of calls, and Florida courts give weight to how federal courts and the FTC read the FDCPA.
Where to report an abusive collector in Florida
A complaint to a regulator is separate from a private lawsuit and does not start the two-year clock. Consumers commonly file with more than one agency.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau takes complaints about debt collectors and forwards them to the company for a response. The Federal Trade Commission collects reports through its consumer reporting site, and it uses debt collection complaints to identify patterns for enforcement. At the state level, the Florida Attorney General handles unfair-practice complaints; the process is laid out in the guide to filing a complaint with the Florida Attorney General.
Frequently asked questions
Can a debt collector call my family or my job in Florida?
A collector may contact other people only to find out where you live or work, and generally cannot reveal that you owe a debt. Under Fla. Stat. § 559.72, a collector cannot disclose information about the debt to people other than you and your family without a legitimate reason, and once it knows your employer bars such calls, it cannot call you at work.
Does telling a collector to stop calling make the debt go away?
No. A cease-communication request stops the contact but does not cancel the debt. The collector can still report the account to credit bureaus and can sue to collect if the debt is valid and within Florida’s time limit for filing.
What counts as proof that a collector called too much?
A dated log of each call, time, phone number, and what was said, plus phone records and voicemail. Federal rules treat more than seven calls in seven days as presumptively harassing, and Fla. Stat. § 559.72(7) bars calling with a frequency meant to harass.
Do these rules apply to the original bank or lender?
Florida’s FCCPA applies to any person collecting a consumer debt, including the original creditor, so the nighttime and harassment limits reach a bank collecting its own account. The federal FDCPA generally applies only to third-party collectors and debt buyers.
How much can I recover if a collector breaks the law?
Under Fla. Stat. § 559.77, a court can award your actual damages plus up to $1,000 in additional statutory damages, along with court costs and reasonable attorney’s fees. A separate FDCPA claim can add up to another $1,000 in federal statutory damages.