What to Say (and Not Say) to a Debt Collector

Before we go any further, can I have your name, your company's name, and a mailing address where I can write to you?

That's the first sentence to say when a debt collector calls. It's polite, commits you to nothing, and sorts the call fast. A real collector has to tell you who it is and that it's a debt collector, so a legitimate company loses nothing by answering. A caller who won't give a mailing address is showing a scam warning sign the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) lists.

A debt collector, under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), is a business whose principal purpose is collecting debts, or one that regularly collects debts owed to someone else (15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)); a bank collecting its own account in its own name generally isn't one. What follows is the rest of what to say to a debt collector, and what not to, with the FDCPA or Regulation F (12 CFR part 1006), the CFPB's debt collection rule, behind each line.

What should you say when a debt collector calls?

When a debt collector calls, find out who it is before you say anything about yourself, ask for the validation notice in writing, and end the call without confirming anything about the debt. The whole script fits on an index card:

• "Who am I speaking with, and what company are you with?"
• "What's your mailing address and phone number? Do you have a state license number?"
• "Who is the original creditor, and who owns the account now?"
• "Please send me the validation notice in writing. I'll respond in writing."

The CFPB's page on sharing personal information with a debt collector suggests the same identifying questions, including the license number if your state licenses debt collectors and requires one.

Incoming call

(888) 555-0142

1

Toll-free · not in your contacts

Decline2

Answer3

1. 1

   A number isn't an identity

   Once you're talking, a real collector has to give its name and say it's a debt collector.

2. 2

   Voicemail is allowed

   Look the company up, then call back. The first conversation still needs the debt collector disclosure.

3. 3

   Answer with questions

   Name, company, mailing address, phone number, original creditor. Then write the answers down.

If you do answer, say

“Please send me the validation notice in writing. I'm not confirming any personal or account details on this call, and I'll respond by mail.”

Then hang up. Nothing has to be admitted, argued or paid on a call you didn't plan.

Should you talk to a debt collector, or let it go to voicemail?

Talking to a debt collector once, on your terms, usually beats ignoring the calls. The CFPB says ignoring a collector's call "usually won't make them go away" and can end in a lawsuit, and that a collector "can also help you understand if the debt is yours and what your options are, even if you can't pay right now." That conversation has one job: identify the company and start the paperwork.

You don't have to answer live. A collector's voicemail may be a bare "limited-content message": a business name, a person's name and a request to call a number (12 CFR 1006.2(j)), so look the company up before you call back. Whoever dials, the first conversation must include the debt collector disclosure (12 CFR 1006.18(e) and its commentary).

How do you check that a debt collector is real?

You check a debt collector by getting its name, mailing address and phone number on the call, then reading its validation notice, the written summary of the debt a collector must send within five days of first contacting you unless that first contact already included it (15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a)).

A collector may not place calls "without meaningful disclosure of the caller's identity" (§ 1692d(6)), and it must tell you it's a debt collector (§ 1692e(11)). Representatives may use an assumed name if they use it consistently and the company can identify them (12 CFR 1006.18(f)), so write the name down exactly as given.

The notice must list the collector's name and dispute mailing address, the creditor on a reference date (for credit accounts) and the current creditor, any account number, an itemization of interest, fees, payments and credits, the current amount, and the end date of your validation period (12 CFR 1006.34(c)). That period runs until 30 days after you receive the information (§ 1006.34(b)(5)). A collector can also read the information to you in the first call (§ 1006.34(a)(1)(ii)), so note the date and respond in writing anyway: the CFPB says that matters "even if they provide the validation information over the phone or through email."

Debt validation and how to respond to a debt collection letter cover what to ask for and how to reply. A caller who won't give a mailing address or phone number, threatens criminal charges, or asks for your financial information is showing red flags the CFPB lists for scams, and the signs of a fake debt collector has the next checks. If the debt is real but the caller seems wrong, the CFPB suggests asking your original creditor who, if anyone, it has authorized to collect.

What should you never tell a debt collector on the phone?

On the phone, never give a debt collector your bank account or card number or your full Social Security number unless you're sure the collector is real, and don't promise a payment or admit the debt before you've read the validation notice. The CFPB is blunt: "Never give out or confirm personal or sensitive financial information – such as your bank account, credit card, or full Social Security number – unless you know the company or person you are talking with is a real debt collector."

Do you have to give a debt collector your information? No. A legitimate collector may ask for your full name, date of birth, the last four digits of your Social Security number or an address to confirm it has the right person, but the CFPB says "it is your choice whether or not to provide the information requested."

Reading out a card or account number hands over access, and recurring bank-account debits need more than a spoken yes: under Regulation E they may be authorized "only by a writing signed or similarly authenticated by the consumer," with a copy to you (12 CFR 1005.10(b)). Whether a debt collector can take money from your bank account covers the rest.

Two friendly phrases give permission away. "Call me back Monday" is consent, and calls placed under it don't count toward Regulation F's call limit for up to seven days (12 CFR 1006.14(b)(3)(i)). "Sure, call me at work" is consent too, and contact you agree to directly, on an allowed call, is exempt from the workplace and inconvenient-time limits (§ 1006.6(b)(4)(i)). And collectors take notes: the CFPB warns that collectors "can track any information you provide, including personal information or if you apologize or admit to owing the debt."

Say this	Not this	Why
“Who am I speaking with, and what company is this?”	“Yes, speaking. What do I owe?”	Collectors must identify themselves (15 U.S.C. §§ 1692d(6), 1692e(11))
“Please send the validation notice in writing.”	“Just tell me the balance.”	The notice itemizes the debt and dates your dispute window (12 CFR 1006.34)
“I'm not confirming personal details on this call.”	Reading out your full Social Security number	Never confirm sensitive data to an unverified caller (CFPB)
“I don't make payments by phone.”	Reading out a card number or agreeing to autopay	Recurring bank debits need a signed or authenticated authorization (12 CFR 1005.10(b))
“I'm not making any promises today.”	“I can do $50 by Friday.”	In some states, a payment or an acknowledgment may restart an old debt's clock (CFPB)
“Stop calling me. Contact me by mail.”	“Call me back Monday.”	“Stop calling” ends phone contact (12 CFR 1006.14(h)); a callback invitation is consent

• Say this“Who am I speaking with, and what company is this?”

  Not this

  “Yes, speaking. What do I owe?”

  Why

  Collectors must identify themselves (15 U.S.C. §§ 1692d(6), 1692e(11))

• Say this“Please send the validation notice in writing.”

  Not this

  “Just tell me the balance.”

  Why

  The notice itemizes the debt and dates your dispute window (12 CFR 1006.34)

• Say this“I'm not confirming personal details on this call.”

  Not this

  Reading out your full Social Security number

  Why

  Never confirm sensitive data to an unverified caller (CFPB)

• Say this“I don't make payments by phone.”

  Not this

  Reading out a card number or agreeing to autopay

  Why

  Recurring bank debits need a signed or authenticated authorization (12 CFR 1005.10(b))

• Say this“I'm not making any promises today.”

  Not this

  “I can do $50 by Friday.”

  Why

  In some states, a payment or an acknowledgment may restart an old debt's clock (CFPB)

• Say this“Stop calling me. Contact me by mail.”

  Not this

  “Call me back Monday.”

  Why

  “Stop calling” ends phone contact (12 CFR 1006.14(h)); a callback invitation is consent

FDCPA, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692d–1692e; Regulation F, 12 CFR part 1006; Regulation E, 12 CFR 1005.10; CFPB consumer guidance.

Should you admit that a debt is yours?

You don't have to admit or deny a debt on a collection call, and it's safer not to until you've read the validation notice, because the debt may not be yours, the amount may be wrong, or the account may be too old to sue on. "Attempts to collect debt not owed" was the most common issue in the roughly 387,400 debt collection complaints the CFPB received in 2025, and the predominant one since it began accepting these complaints in 2013, according to its 2025 Consumer Response Annual Report, published March 31, 2026.

Old debts are where words cost the most. Regulation F says a collector "must not bring or threaten to bring a legal action against a consumer to collect a time-barred debt" (12 CFR 1006.26(b)), but the CFPB's page on collecting a debt that's several years old warns that "making a partial payment or acknowledging you owe an old debt, even after the statute of limitations expired, may restart the time period." State law decides. New York has gone the other way for consumer credit since April 7, 2022: once the period expires, a later payment or "written or oral affirmation" of the debt "does not revive or extend" it (N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 214-i). Check the account's age before you pay anything, even a small "good faith" amount, or sign anything, using what restarts the statute of limitations and what a time-barred debt means.

What can you tell a debt collector to do, and does saying it out loud count?

You can tell a debt collector out loud that a time or place is inconvenient, that your employer doesn't allow calls at work, that you have a lawyer, or to stop calling, and Regulation F requires the collector to follow each instruction; a dispute that pauses collection, or a demand to stop all contact, must be in writing. Those are the nearest thing to magic words to stop debt collectors, and none of them erases the debt.

"Inconvenient" is a word worth using. Regulation F's official commentary says a collector knows or should know a time or place is inconvenient "if the consumer uses the word 'inconvenient' to notify the debt collector" (12 CFR 1006.6(b)(1)), and before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. your local time is presumed inconvenient already. For work, saying you can't take personal calls there is enough (§ 1006.6(b)(3) and its comment), as whether debt collectors can call your work or family explains.

"Stop calling me" does the most.

"Stop calling, contact me by mail" ends the calls and keeps the letters coming, usually the right trade, since notices and offers travel by mail. How to stop debt collector calls prices out every option.

The strongest instruction takes a letter. After you notify a collector in writing that you refuse to pay or want contact to stop, it may contact you about that debt only to say it's ending its efforts, or that it or the creditor may, or intends to, invoke a specified remedy (15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c)). You stop hearing offers too, and the CFPB notes a collector may still sue or report to a credit bureau, so read when a cease-and-desist letter makes sense first. A dispute also goes on paper: written within the validation period, it stops collection until verification is mailed (§ 1692g(b)), and the CFPB advises disputing "even before you insist that they stop contacting you."

What you say	Out loud enough?	The rule	What continues
“That time is inconvenient”	Yes	12 CFR 1006.6(b)(1)	Contact at other times
“My employer doesn't allow these calls”	Yes	12 CFR 1006.6(b)(3)	Contact outside work
“I have a lawyer,” with the lawyer's name and address	Yes	12 CFR 1006.6(b)(2)	Contact through your lawyer
“Stop calling me”	Yes	12 CFR 1006.14(h)(1)	Letters, plus email and texts unless you bar those
“I dispute this debt”	Not for the pause: write within the validation period	15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b)	Collection stops until verification is mailed
“Stop contacting me” or “I refuse to pay”	No: in writing or electronically	15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c)	Three narrow notices, such as that a lawsuit may follow

• What you say“That time is inconvenient”

  Out loud enough?

  Yes

  The rule

  12 CFR 1006.6(b)(1)

  What continues

  Contact at other times

• What you say“My employer doesn't allow these calls”

  Out loud enough?

  Yes

  The rule

  12 CFR 1006.6(b)(3)

  What continues

  Contact outside work

• What you say“I have a lawyer,” with the lawyer's name and address

  Out loud enough?

  Yes

  The rule

  12 CFR 1006.6(b)(2)

  What continues

  Contact through your lawyer

• What you say“Stop calling me”

  Out loud enough?

  Yes

  The rule

  12 CFR 1006.14(h)(1)

  What continues

  Letters, plus email and texts unless you bar those

• What you say“I dispute this debt”

  Out loud enough?

  Not for the pause: write within the validation period

  The rule

  15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b)

  What continues

  Collection stops until verification is mailed

• What you say“Stop contacting me” or “I refuse to pay”

  Out loud enough?

  No: in writing or electronically

  The rule

  15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c)

  What continues

  Three narrow notices, such as that a lawsuit may follow

FDCPA, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692c, 1692g; Regulation F, 12 CFR part 1006 and its official commentary.

What is a debt collector not allowed to say to you?

A debt collector may not lie to you, threaten you, harass you, or try to collect money your contract or the law doesn't allow. The FDCPA bans "any false, deceptive, or misleading representation" (15 U.S.C. § 1692e), conduct meant "to harass, oppress, or abuse" (§ 1692d), and "unfair or unconscionable means" (§ 1692f).

The clause

“The representation or implication that nonpayment of any debt will result in the arrest or imprisonment of any person or the seizure, garnishment, attachment, or sale of any property or wages of any person unless such action is lawful and the debt collector or creditor intends to take such action.”

Plain English

No threats of arrest, jail, garnishment or seizure unless the step is legal and actually planned. The CFPB says a real debt collector should not claim it can have you arrested.

Write down the exact words

The clause

“The threat to take any action that cannot legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken.”

Plain English

No bluffing. “We're suing you Monday” breaks this rule if the collector can't or won't, and on a time-barred debt Regulation F bars the threat outright.

Old account? Check its age first

The clause

“The false representation or implication that any individual is an attorney or that any communication is from an attorney.”

Plain English

A caller can't pose as a lawyer or claim a call or letter comes from one when it doesn't.

FDCPA, 15 U.S.C. § 1692e(3)–(5); Regulation F, 12 CFR 1006.26(b); CFPB.

Calling repeatedly to annoy or harass is its own violation (§ 1692d(5)), and Regulation F puts numbers on it: under 12 CFR 1006.14(b)(2), a collector is presumed to violate the rule if it calls you about a particular debt more than seven times within seven consecutive days, or within seven days after a phone conversation with you about it. The 7-in-7 rule walks through a week of calls.

If a collector crosses the line, you can sue within one year, with a consumer lawyer's help, for your actual damages, additional damages of up to $1,000 in an individual case, and a reasonable attorney's fee if you win (15 U.S.C. § 1692k). How to report a debt collector covers complaints to the CFPB, the FTC and your state attorney general, and your rights under the FDCPA lists the rest.

Can you record a phone call with a debt collector?

Whether you can record a call with a debt collector depends on state law: federal law lets a participant record without the other side's consent, but some states require everyone on the call to agree. The federal rule, 18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d), allows a party to a call to record it unless the purpose is to commit a criminal or tortious act.

Washington's law, for example, makes it unlawful to record a private phone call "without first obtaining the consent of all the participants," and it counts consent as given when one party announces to everyone on the call that it's being recorded, with the announcement captured on the recording (RCW 9.73.030). Check your state's rule, or ask a legal aid office, before you press record.

The collector may be recording too. Regulation F doesn't require it, but a collector that records calls must keep each recording for three years after the call (12 CFR 1006.100(b)). If a call opens with a recording notice, assume every word goes into the file.

How do you keep a record of debt collection calls?

Keep a call log with the date, time, number, the caller's name and company, and what was said, then put anything important in a letter. The CFPB advises writing down "dates and times of conversations, along with notes about what you discussed," because those records help "if you're disputing the debt, meeting with a lawyer, or going to court." A written log needs nobody's consent.

Note the exact words of anything that sounded like a threat, what you asked for, what the collector promised to send, and any instruction you gave, such as "stop calling." Save voicemails and screenshot texts. Send disputes and instructions by certified mail with a return receipt, as the CFPB suggests, and keep copies. A letter can be reread, quoted back and proven, and it's the only channel Felix negotiates through: by mail, never by phone.

What should you say if you want to settle the debt?

If you want to settle, the most useful words on the phone are "please put that offer in writing," because no money should leave your account until the terms are on paper. The CFPB says to "get the plan and the debt collector's promises in writing before you make a payment," and those promises can include stopping collection and forgiving the rest of the debt once you've paid as agreed.

Say a collector calls about a $3,000 Capital One card balance and offers to take $1,500 if you pay by Friday. Your answer: "Please send me that offer in writing, with the $1,500 amount, the due date, and a statement that it settles the entire balance." If you owe the same collector more than one debt, name the account each payment is for: it must follow your direction and can't apply a payment to a debt you dispute (15 U.S.C. § 1692h).

• The collector's name, mailing address and phone number

  Plus a license number if your state licenses collectors and requires one.

• The validation notice, in writing

  The current creditor, the itemized balance, and the end of your validation period.

• The date of your last payment

  To check your state's statute of limitations before any money moves.

• Any offer, in writing

  The amount, the due date, and a statement that it settles the entire debt.

• No court deadline running

  If you've been served, a lawyer or legal aid office comes first.

Whether to accept a debt collector's settlement offer covers judging the number, what a debt settlement agreement must say before you pay covers the paper, and how to negotiate a debt settlement yourself covers making an offer of your own.

What should you say if a debt collector has already sued you?

If a debt collector has already sued you, the phone call isn't where the case gets decided: respond to the lawsuit by the deadline in the court papers, and talk to a lawyer or legal aid office before you negotiate. The CFPB says to respond "either personally or through a lawyer by the date specified in the court papers," and warns that a judgment can let a creditor garnish wages, place a lien on property, or move to freeze a bank account, depending on state law. A call with the collector doesn't move that date, and what to do if a debt collector sues you maps out the first days.

How does Felix keep conversations with collectors in writing?

Felix negotiates by mail, never by phone, so on the accounts you enroll, collectors hear from you on paper. Felix is a debt negotiation platform for U.S. consumers that negotiates the unsecured accounts you choose to enroll, from credit cards and medical bills to accounts already with a collection agency or debt buyer; it doesn't negotiate secured debt such as mortgages and auto loans, federal student loans, or government debts.

Felix drafts each letter in your own voice, you read and e-sign it, and it's mailed in your name from your own return address, so replies come to you, with no power of attorney. Any offer that comes back is shown to you with the numbers written out, and you decide; if you accept, you pay the collector directly, and Felix never holds your money. If court papers arrive, Felix pauses the letters on that account and points you to a lawyer or legal aid. No collector is obliged to settle.

Checking eligibility uses a soft credit pull that doesn't affect your score (the privacy policy covers your data), and pricing is a subscription whose base covers up to three enrolled accounts at a time, with a smaller amount for each one after that. The FAQ covers the rest.