A collection agency, because of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, is not allowed to act in these manners:

• Third-Party Communications: The collection agency is not allowed to speak to third parties except for the debtor's attorney or a credit bureau for any reason, unless they are locating the debtor. Collection agents that speak to third parties must inform them of their names, and can only say that they are verifying or adjusting information about the debtor. They are not allowed to say what collection agency they are from unless directly asked. They are not allowed to say that the call is about a debt. Collection agents are not allowed to contact a third party over and over unless they suppose an earlier response was incorrect or unfinished and that the third party contains corrected information. Also, collection agents are not allowed to correspond with third parties by postcard or by letters that uses words or symbols that reveal their collection intention.
• Attorney-Represented Debtor: A collection agency is not allowed to get in touch with the debtor if they are represented by counsel unless the debtor gives certain authorization to the collection agency to do so.
• Debtor Communications: Collection agents are not to get in touch with debtors before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m., or at a different inopportune time or place. Collection agents are also not to get in touch with a debtor at work if they know that the employer does not allow collection calls while at work.
• Harassment or Abuse: Agents are not allowed to threaten or use violence against the debtor or another person. They are not to use obscene or disrespectful words. They are not allowed to publish a debtor's name on a "blacklist" or any other public posting. Agents are not allowed to call over and over or get in touch with the debtor without letting them know that they are a bill collector.
• False or Misleading Statements: Agents are not allowed to falsify the debt, their identity, the owed amount, or the penalty for the debtor. They are not to send documents that look like legal filings or court papers. Agents are not allowed to present incentives to reveal information.
• Unfair Practices: Agents are not to take on dishonest or outrageous practices to collect, as well as adding interest or fees to the debt, requesting post-dated checks by making threats of criminal prosecution, calling the debtor collect, or making threats of taking the property to which the agency does not have any right.