Consumer · Massachusetts

Can I sue for a debt collector harassing me in Massachusetts?

the short answer

A debt collector may not harass, oppress or abuse you to collect a debt — no threats, no obscenity, no publishing your name as someone who will not pay, and no repeated calls meant to annoy. It may not lie about the amount, about who it is, or about what will happen to you. It may not call before 8 in the morning or after 9 at night your time, or at work once you have said your employer forbids it, and once you tell it in writing to stop contacting you it must stop.

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

everywhere in the u.s.

governing statute15 U.S.C. § 1692d source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

deadline5 dayssource ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

penaltyYour actual damages, plus additional damages the court may allow up to $1,000, plus the costs of the action and a reasonable attorney's fee (15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a)). The fee shifts on any successful action, which is what makes a small case worth a lawyer's time.source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

limit1 yearsource ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

free routeThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau takes a complaint about a debt collector online, in any state, for nothing. It forwards the complaint to the company and expects a response, and it publishes the complaint and the response in a public database. That is a national route that runs alongside — not instead of — the state office named below.source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

alsoThe Act reaches debt collectors — third-party agencies, and buyers of debt that was already in default. A creditor collecting its own debt in its own name is usually outside it, and that is the gap the state law below is often there to close. Two more things worth knowing: within five days of first contacting you the collector must put the amount, the creditor's name and your right to dispute in writing, and if you dispute in writing within thirty days it must stop collecting until it sends you verification. Under Regulation F a collector is presumed to be harassing you if it calls more than seven times in seven days about the same debt, or at all within seven days of speaking to you (12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b)(2)(i)).source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

in this state

Where do you report a debt collector in Massachusetts?

free route

Massachusetts splits the complaint by who the company is, and getting it right matters. A debt collection company is licensed by the Division of Banks and complaints about one go there; a debt buyer goes to the Attorney General's Consumer Advocacy and Response Division instead. Both are free, and you can check any collector's licence through NMLS before you file.

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

How much can you sue for in Massachusetts small claims court?

small claims limit

$7,000

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

exceptions: The limit does not apply at all to a claim for property damage caused by a motor vehicle.

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

What else should you know in Massachusetts?

also

The Attorney General's debt collection regulations, 940 CMR 7.00, define unfair and deceptive collection practices — and they apply to original creditors and their attorneys as well as to agencies and debt buyers. A violation of those regulations is a violation of Chapter 93A, which is what carries the damages. The Division of Banks has its own set at 209 CMR 18.00.

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

your situation

That is the rule. Whether it is your answer is a different question.

Everything above is the law as it reaches everyone in Massachusetts. What it means for you turns on facts only you have. Tell us what happened and we'll ask the same questions a lawyer would — about 90 seconds, free, and anonymous.

This is legal information, not legal advice. Written by an AI model, which can be wrong. Not a lawyer, and not a prediction about your case. Terms · Privacy

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