Your rights and the law · 15 guides
Daniel M. covers the rules that govern debt collection: the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Regulation F, statutes of limitations, lawsuits and garnishment, and what happens to debts when someone dies.
Daniel M. is a pen name used by the Felix editorial team for this beat. Every guide lists the primary sources it relies on (the CFPB, the FTC, the IRS, the statute text) at the end, and none of it is legal, tax, or financial advice.
Your Rights
Not on its own: it takes a lawsuit, a judgment and a court order served on your bank, and two months of direct-deposited Social Security or VA benefits stay protected.
Daniel M. · October 15, 2026 · 16 min read
Your Rights
Usually not. Debts are paid from the deceased person's estate, and relatives owe nothing personally unless they co-signed, held a joint account, or state law applies.
Daniel M. · October 7, 2026 · 16 min read
Your Rights
Yes. Regulation F lets debt collectors text, email, and privately message you, but every message needs an opt-out and work email is mostly off-limits.
Daniel M. · September 10, 2026 · 9 min read
Your Rights
A real collector will put the debt in writing and let you hang up. Here's the verification procedure, the payment methods that give a scam away, and what to do.
Daniel M. · August 20, 2026 · 17 min read
Letters & Templates
The FDCPA right people call a cease and desist is real and it works fast. Here's the decision matrix: when the letter helps you, and when it costs you the settlement.
Daniel M. · July 23, 2026 · 11 min read
Statute of Limitations
A time-barred debt can't be sued over, but a collector may still ask you to pay it. What Regulation F forbids, which states require a warning, and how to check.
Daniel M. · June 18, 2026 · 10 min read
Statute of Limitations
A partial payment or a signed promise can restart a debt's limitations clock from zero. Here is what legally counts as an acknowledgment, and what doesn't.
Daniel M. · June 16, 2026 · 10 min read
Your Rights
Where to report a debt collector: the CFPB, the FTC, your state attorney general, and when a private FDCPA lawsuit is the route that actually pays damages.
Daniel M. · April 28, 2026 · 7 min read
Your Rights
A collector can call your job until you say your employer forbids it, and can contact family only to locate you, never to discuss the debt. Here is the exact line.
Daniel M. · April 21, 2026 · 8 min read
Your Rights
Regulation F presumes a debt collector violates federal law after seven calls in seven days about one debt, or any call within seven days of a conversation.
Daniel M. · April 16, 2026 · 8 min read
Statute of Limitations
Most states give a creditor three to six years to sue over an unpaid debt. Here is every state's deadline, what restarts it, and how the defense is actually raised.
Daniel M. · February 24, 2026 · 28 min read
Your Rights
A collector must send a validation notice with an itemized balance, and you get 30 days to dispute in writing. Here's what that forces them to do, and what it doesn't.
Daniel M. · February 12, 2026 · 13 min read
Your Rights
Debt collectors can call you, but not before 8am or after 9pm, not more than seven times in seven days, and never with threats. Here's the full list of limits.
Daniel M. · February 10, 2026 · 11 min read
Your Rights
Federal law caps wage garnishment for consumer debt at 25% of disposable pay, often less. See the math, the states that bar it, and the income creditors can't take.
Daniel M. · January 27, 2026 · 16 min read
Your Rights
Find the deadline on your summons and respond before it passes. Answer windows of 10 to 30 days are common, and a missed one usually means a default judgment.
Daniel M. · January 20, 2026 · 19 min read
