WHEN THIS MAY HELP

Check the fit first.

• Use when a debt collector is contacting you about an alleged consumer or household debt and you want to state specific preferred or inconvenient contact channels, times, or places without demanding that every contact stop.
• Use when your employer truly does not allow personal collection calls at work and you need to tell the collector that workplace calls are not permitted.
• Use when a collector has used calls, email, text, or private social-media messages in a way you want documented and limited, such as communications during a stated inconvenient period.

LIMITS TO KEEP IN VIEW

What this does not do.

• This is an educational communication tool, not an official government form, legal advice, a legally compliant contract, representation, or an auto-send service. Review and adapt it before use.
• Contact preferences are not a full cease-contact request. They do not cancel an alleged debt, prevent lawful notices or a lawsuit, change court or payment deadlines, or bar every lawful collection activity. Do not ignore court papers.
• State a workplace restriction only if it is true: the collector generally may not call you at work when it knows your employer does not allow such calls. Do not falsely claim an employer rule.
• The FDCPA generally concerns debt collectors collecting consumer or household debts; it does not generally cover business debts and may not apply the same way to an original creditor. This letter is not a FCRA credit-report error dispute and does not request deletion of accurate credit-report information.
• A request to avoid a channel or schedule does not necessarily mean a collector must use a different channel. A consumer-initiated contact from an inconvenient time or place can permit a limited response under CFPB Regulation F. Keep any restriction clear and update it if it changes.
• If you dispute a debt, a timely written dispute after a validation notice can require the collector to pause collection until verification is provided; this preferences letter is not a substitute for that dispute. An untimely request does not automatically trigger that result.

A PRACTICAL SEQUENCE

Before you use it.

1. Read the collector’s validation notice and verify the collection company’s name, mailing address, telephone number, and the limited reference before responding. Do not assume an address from an online search or a caller alone.
2. Complete only accurate preferences. If you use the workplace statement, confirm that your employer actually prohibits personal calls. Use only a last four or other non-sensitive reference; do not include a full SSN, account number, card number, or birth date.
3. Keep a completed copy, the validation notice, envelopes, call logs, screenshots, and notes of dates, times, and what was said. If the collector asks for identity or report documents, ask how to provide copies through its secure or offline process; never mail originals.
4. Send the original using the collector’s verified delivery method. Consider certified mail with return receipt, or use a verified electronic channel the collector provides, and retain the tracking, receipt, confirmation, and a dated copy.
5. Check delivery and follow up based on the actual delivery date and any validation-notice, court, or payment deadline. Do not assume a universal 30-day response or a deletion of information.
6. If contact continues contrary to a clear restriction, preserve the evidence and consider a CFPB complaint, your state regulator, legal aid, or a qualified attorney.