Dealing with Debt Collectors and Collection Lawsuits

A debt collector is a company that collects debts for someone else, or that buys old debts. A federal law, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, sets rules for how collectors act. DC and Maryland have their own debt collection laws too.

In general, a collector may not:

• Call you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
• Call you about one debt more than 7 times in 7 days, or within 7 days after talking with you by phone about it.
• Call you at work if they know your employer does not allow it.
• Say you will be arrested, or say they will sue you when that is not true.
• Pretend to be a lawyer or a government worker.
• Talk about your debt with your relatives, neighbors, or boss. They may talk about it only with you, your spouse, or your lawyer. They may contact other people only to find you.
• Post about your debt on social media where others can see it.
• Say you owe a different amount than you really owe.

You can tell a collector how and when to contact you, for example "no calls at work" or "by mail only." If you want them to stop contacting you, send a letter. After that, they may contact you only to say they will stop or to tell you about a specific step, such as a lawsuit. Stopping contact does not erase the debt.

A collector must send you a validation notice in its first contact or within 5 days after it. The notice names the creditor, shows what you owe with interest and fees, and gives an end date for a 30-day dispute period.

1. On the first call, do not pay or agree to anything. Ask for the collector's name, company, mailing address, and phone number.
2. Wait for the validation notice, or ask them to send it.
3. Compare it with your records. Is the debt yours? Is the amount right? Did you already pay it?
4. If anything is wrong or unclear, send a dispute letter before the end date in the notice. Use certified mail with a return receipt, and keep a copy.
5. After you dispute in writing within the 30 days, the collector must stop collecting the disputed amount until it answers you.
6. Keep a log of every call: the date, the time, the person's name, and what was said.

Sample dispute letter

[Your name]
[Your address]
[Date]

[Collector's name]
[Collector's address]

About: account number [number from the notice]

I am writing about your letter dated [date]. I dispute this debt. [Choose one: I do not owe this debt. / The amount is wrong. / I need more information.]

Please send me the name of the original creditor, a copy of the last statement from that creditor, and how you got the amount you say I owe. Please contact me only by mail.

This letter does not say that I owe this debt.

[Your signature]

Do not put your bank account number or Social Security number in the letter.

Check that the collector is real

• Do not trust the name on caller ID. Scammers can fake it.
• Look up the company yourself. Call the original creditor and ask who owns the debt now.
• In Maryland, collection agencies must have a state license. You can check it with the Office of Financial Regulation.
• Never pay with a gift card, wire transfer, crypto, or payment app because a caller is rushing you. A real collector must send you a written notice.
• Look for the debt on your free credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com.

Old debts have time limits

The statute of limitations is the time limit for suing you over a debt. In most states it is 3 to 6 years, and some are longer. After it passes, the debt is time-barred. A collector may still ask you to pay, but it may not sue you or threaten to sue you.

• DC: 3 years for most consumer debts. A payment made after the time limit has passed does not restart it.
• Maryland: 3 years for most consumer debts. A payment made after the time limit has passed does not restart it.
• Virginia: 3 years for a debt without a written contract, or 5 years for a signed written contract. It can be hard to tell which one applies. A signed, written promise to pay can restart the time limit.

The time limit for suing is not the same as the credit report limit. Most negative information, including most collections, can stay on your credit report for 7 years. Before you pay anything on a very old debt, talk to legal aid.

Medical bills often have mistakes, and many can be lowered. Before you pay a large medical bill, or a collector for one, follow these steps.

1. Ask for an itemized bill that lists each service and its price.
2. Compare it with the statement from your health insurance. Call your insurer about any claim that was denied.
3. Ask the hospital for its financial assistance policy and application. Nonprofit hospitals must have a written policy and make it easy to find.
4. Ask for a payment plan with no interest that fits your budget.
5. Get every agreement in writing.

DC-area rules (September 2026)

• Maryland: Since October 1, 2025, medical debt may not be reported to the credit bureaus. Hospitals may not sue a patient who owes $500 or less. Patients have 240 days from the first bill to apply for financial assistance, and hospitals may not sue during that time. Maryland hospitals must give free medically necessary care to patients with family income at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.
• Virginia: Since July 1, 2024, health care providers and collectors may not report medical debt to the credit bureaus. Since July 1, 2026, a hospital or debt collector must wait at least 120 days after the final bill is due, and send a written notice about financial help, before it sues a patient or sells the debt. The patient then has at least 30 days to ask for proof of the debt or apply for help.
• DC: In 2026, DC passed a new medical debt law. Its main rules, including a ban on reporting medical debt to the credit bureaus, start only six months after the DC budget pays for the law. Ask legal aid which rules apply to your bill.
• Everywhere: The three national credit bureaus leave off paid medical collections and medical collections under $500. They wait one year before adding an unpaid medical collection. A federal rule to remove all medical debt from credit reports was struck down by a court in July 2025. In October 2025, the CFPB said it believes federal law overrides state credit reporting rules like the ones above, so courts may decide how far they reach.