What conduct counts as harassment or abuse by a debt collector? Answer in under 100 words. Cite only eCFR sources.

Details / How it works

§ 1006.14(a) – General rule: A debt collector must not engage in conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse any person in connection with collecting a debt.

Enumerated prohibitions:

• (b) Repeated or continuous telephone calls/conversations with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass anyone at the called number.
• (c) Using or threatening violence or other criminal means against person, reputation, or property.
• (d) Obscene or profane language, or language whose natural consequence is to abuse the hearer or reader.
• (e) Publishing a list of consumers who allegedly refuse to pay debts — except to a consumer reporting agency.
• (f) Advertising a debt for sale to coerce payment (coercive advertisement).
• (g) Placing calls without meaningfully disclosing the caller's identity (with limited exceptions referencing § 1006.10).
• (h) Communicating through a medium (telephone, email, text, social media) the person has asked the collector not to use.

Numbers & thresholds

Note: "Particular debt" means each of a consumer's debts in collection separately; however, federal student loan debts serviced under a single account number count as one particular debt.

Exceptions & edge cases

• Calls excluded from the frequency count: calls placed with the person's prior consent given directly to the collector (within 7 days of receiving consent); unconnected calls (abandoned calls, busy signals, no-answer); and calls to statutory recipients under § 1006.6(d)(1)(ii)–(vi), such as the consumer's attorney or a consumer reporting agency.
• Debtor-list publication: permitted to consumer reporting agencies under the FCRA.
• Identity disclosure: the meaningful-disclosure requirement yields where provided for, e.g., acquisition of location information under § 1006.10.
• Prohibited-medium exceptions: a collector may send an electronic confirmation of an opt-out request containing nothing beyond the confirmation; it may respond once through the same medium if the person initiates contact; and it may use the medium when otherwise required by applicable law.