In most cases, YES. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) strictly limits how a debt collector can deal not only with you, but with your family, friends, neighbors and others.
The only persons a debt collector can communicate with about your debt are you, your lawyer, a credit reporting agency, the creditor, or their lawyers. They can also contact others if they are trying to locate you, but they cannot tell those people that you owe a debt or send them any communications that indicate they are a debt collector. They generally cannot communicate with anyone else about your debt unless you expressly give them permission, a court allows them to, or they are seeking to collect on a judgment they have obtained against you in court.
Also, they cannot even communicate with you once you tell them to stop – click here for more information on telling them to stop. Also, once you tell them that you are represented by a lawyer regarding that debt and give them your lawyer’s contact information, they generally cannot communicate directly with you anymore, but can only work through your attorney. This is one very effective way to stop further communications from a debt collector.
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