How to Stop Creditor Harassment: Cease & Desist

If you don't want to answer the phone because of debt collectors, a cease and desist letter will help.

If you are struggling to pay your bills, the last thing you need is harassing calls from creditors. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) affords consumers protection from creditor harassment. If you are tired of phone calls from third-party collection agencies, you can stop all communication --- including by phone and by mail --- by sending your creditor a cease and desist letter. Once your creditor receives the letter they will, by law, not be allowed to contact you again.

Instructions

1. Copy and paste the following document into a word processor:

   Representative,

   I am writing pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC 1692c(c), to request that you cease all communication to me about my account number "123456789" with "creditor name."

   Sincerely,

   "Your name."

2. Replace "123456789" with your account number, then replace "creditor name" with the name of the original creditor and then replace "Your name" with your name.

3. Sign and date the letter.

4. Mail the letter to your creditor via certified mail.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep the certified receipt somewhere safe. If the creditor violates the law by contacting you after the have received the letter, you could be entitled to compensation under the law.

References

• Expert Law: Fair Debt Collection
• Federal Trade Commission: Fair Debt Collection Practices Act:

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish