New York debt collection laws: 1 year to file

the short answer

New York's own debt collection regulation goes past the federal Act on the one point that decides most disputes: proof. Ask a collector to substantiate the debt and it has 60 days to produce the records — and if it does not, it must stop collecting until it does. It also requires written confirmation of any payment arrangement, account statements at least quarterly while you are paying, and a specific warning before it accepts a payment on a debt that is already too old to sue on.

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

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

plain englishA 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.

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.

Which debt collection law applies in New York?

governing statute

23 NYCRR Part 1

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

Where do you report a debt collector in New York?

free route

The Attorney General is the office New York points consumers to for a debt collection complaint, and it is free. The Department of Financial Services is the other half of the picture: it wrote and enforces Part 1 above, and it has brought charges against collectors for pursuing debts they could not prove they owned.

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

Which court hears a case like this in New York?

which court

Small Claims Part of the New York City Civil Court

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

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

small claims limit

$10,000

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

exceptions: In town and village justice courts the limit is $3,000.

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

What else should you know in New York?

also

Read the scope before you rely on it. Part 1 applies to third-party collectors and debt buyers, and not to an original creditor collecting its own account, to a debt already reduced to judgment, or to a tort claim or utility bill where no credit was extended.

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

your situation

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

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

Which debt collection law applies in New York?

Where do you report a debt collector in New York?

Which court hears a case like this in New York?

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

What else should you know in New York?

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