When Can a Debt Collector Contact You by Email?

Have you received an email regarding a debt you owe either before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.? If so, you may be entitled to seek monetary damages. The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal law that forbids third-party debt collectors from directly contacting consumers during such inconvenient times. While this prohibition is typically applied to telephone calls during these hours, it also covers other forms of communication such as email.

The FDCPA and Regulation F

In 2021, the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) implemented Regulation F. These are the rules that implement the FDCPA. Among other things, Regulation F outlines what a debt collector can–and cannot do–when attempting to contact an individual about a potential debt they may owe.

Regulation F only applies to the collection of consumer debts incurred for personal, family, or household purposes, such as individual credit credit card balances. Regulation F does not cover debts owed by a corporation or similarly organized business entity. The FDCPA only covers the activities of debt collectors, i.e., persons and companies who regularly collect debts owed to other persons. So these rules do not cover the party who originated the debt.

So what does Regulation F forbid? Under the current form of the regulation, a debt collector cannot communicate or attempt to communicate with a consumer at a time that the debt collector knows–or should know–is inconvenient to the consumer. Unless the debt collector has “knowledge of circumstances to the contrary,” this includes any attempted communication before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m., based on the local time of the consumer.

For example, let’s say Shannon lives here in Florida. A debt collector acting on behalf of Shannon’s credit card company emails her at 11 p.m. Eastern Time in an attempt to collect her debt. This would violate Regulation F. The debt collector could not avoid liability under the FDCPA by arguing it was based in California and therefore called her at 8 p.m. Pacific Time.

Nor may a debt collector rely upon when the consumer receives an email to justify compliance. Regulation F defines the time of communication as when an email was sent, not when it was received. So even if you do not regularly check your email between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m., if you receive a message that was timestamped during that period, the debt collector may still violate the FDCPA.

Likewise, the regulation applies regardless of whether or not the debt collector’s communication was automatically generated. Indeed, many debt collectors choose to communicate through such automatically generated messages. While such messages are not in and of themselves illegal, they must still comply with the “inconvenient times” rule.

Can You Declare Other Times Off-Limits?

Regulation F sets a baseline that any debt collector communication between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. is inconvenient. This does not, however, need to be an exclusive window. You are allowed to declare other times “inconvenient” and thus off-limits to a debt collector who wants to email you about a debt. You should be direct and specific about such times, however, so as to avoid any confusion about your intentions.

For instance, if a debt collector emails you at 4 p.m. and you reply that you are “too busy” right now, the debt collector does not have to interpret that to mean it cannot email you at 4 p.m. But if you inform the debt collector that you do not wish to receive emails between noon and 5 p.m., they must respect your wishes.

Exceptions to Regulation F

Some exceptions allow a debt collector to email you at what would otherwise be considered an inconvenient time under Regulation F. These exceptions are:

• You previously gave consent to such emails. You must give such consent directly to the debt collector. Consent to a third party, including the original creditor or another debt collector, does not count.
• You choose to email the debt collector between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. In that circumstance, the debt collector is allowed to send you one email in response without violating Regulation F, even if that reply is sent between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. or any other time that you previously designated as “inconvenient.” Your one-time email does not give the debt collector blanket permission to contact you during inconvenient times.
• A court has previously permitted the debt collector to email you at a time that would otherwise be considered inconvenient.

Can a Debt Collector Email Me at Work?

If you have a separate email account provided by your employer for work purposes, the FDCPA generally prohibits a debt collector from emailing you at that address, regardless of what time the message was sent. There are, however, some important caveats. First, if you have used your work email to communicate with a debt collector in the past–or you provided that email address to the debt collector via an online portal–then it is legal for the debt collector to continue communicating with you at that address until you state otherwise.

Opting Out of Debt Collector Emails

If you wish for a debt collector to stop contacting you via email altogether, you have that right under the FDCPA. Indeed, the debt collector is required to provide a simple opt-out procedure if you wish to receive no further emails about any debt you might owe. The debt collector may not charge you a fee or impose unnecessary hurdles to the opt-out procedure.

Call Our Florida Fair Debt Collection Practices Attorneys Today

If you are being harassed by a debt collector–via email or any other means–you may have grounds to sue under the FDCPA. A Florida court can award statutory damages of $1,000 per violation, compensation for your physical and emotional distress, and your court costs and attorney fees. If you would like to learn more, please call the Fort Lauderdale debt defense lawyers at Loan Lawyers at (954) 523-4357 to schedule a free consultation.

Source:

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau