Consumer · Vermont

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

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 Vermont?

free route

The Consumer Assistance Program takes the complaint — it is run by the Attorney General's office with the University of Vermont, and it is free. Vermont's collection rules live in the Consumer Protection Act and the Attorney General's own consumer protection rules rather than in a standalone collection statute.

source ↗Not yet checked against the statute.

Which court hears a case like this in Vermont?

which court

Small claims court

source ↗Checked against the statute on 2026-08-25

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

small claims limit

$10,000

source ↗Checked against the statute on 2026-08-25

exceptions: $5,000 to collect a consumer credit debt or a medical debt, and above that the court cannot hear those at all. The court awards money and nothing else, and a claim worth more than $10,000 cannot be split in two to fit. Over $3,500 the person you sue may ask that a judge hear it.

source ↗Checked against the statute on 2026-08-25

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 Vermont. 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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