Consumer · New Jersey

Can I sue for a debt collector harassing me in New Jersey?

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 New Jersey?

free route

The Division of Consumer Affairs takes the complaint, and it publishes a Debt Collection Handbook of its own that tells you to contact the Division if you think a collector has broken the law. Its instruction on how to file is specific: explain in detail, with photocopies rather than originals, what the problem is, who it is with, what you have already done, and the collector's name and current address.

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

Which court hears a case like this in New Jersey?

which court

Small Claims section of the Special Civil Part

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

How much can you sue for in New Jersey small claims court?

small claims limit

$5,000

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

exceptions: The Special Civil Part's other docket takes claims up to $20,000. A claim for the return of a security deposit may be filed in either one.

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 New Jersey. 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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