Yes, a debt collector can call your cell phone, but federal law puts firm limits on when they call, how often, and what equipment they use to dial. You can also tell them to stop calling that number, and in writing you can shut down contact altogether. The rules below apply to third-party collectors working on personal debts like credit cards, medical bills, and student loans.
When Collectors Can Call and How Often
A collector cannot call at times they know or should know are inconvenient. The default rule treats anything before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. in your local time zone as off-limits.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692c – Communication in Connection With Debt Collection If other hours are also bad for you, say so, and they have to respect that. A verbal request is enough.2Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1006.6 – Communications in Connection With Debt Collection
Frequency has its own rule. Under the CFPB’s Debt Collection Rule, a collector is presumed to be harassing you if they call more than seven times within seven consecutive days about the same debt, or if they call again within seven days after actually speaking with you by phone about that debt.3eCFR. 12 CFR 1006.14 – Harassing, Oppressive, or Abusive Conduct The seven-in-seven limit runs per debt, so a collector working three of your accounts could call about each separately. Pile-on calling across accounts can still cross into harassment.
If your cell phone is also the number you answer at work, there’s an extra protection. Once you tell a collector that your employer doesn’t allow personal collection calls at work, they must stop calling you there.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692c – Communication in Connection With Debt Collection Verbal notice does the job.
Robocalls and Autodialed Calls Need Your Consent
Cell phones get a second layer of protection that landlines don’t. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act requires a debt collector to have your prior express consent before using an autodialer or a prerecorded voice to call your cell.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 227 – Restrictions on Use of Telephone Equipment Without that consent, the call is a federal violation on its own, regardless of whether the debt is real.
Since January 2025, the FCC’s one-to-one consent rule tightens this further. Consent has to be given directly to each specific company. Putting your number on a comparison shopping site or a lead form that shares it with multiple businesses is not consent for any of them to robocall you.5Federal Communications Commission. One-to-One Consent Rule for TCPA Prior Express Written Consent
You can revoke consent any time, through any reasonable method. Saying “stop calling” during a conversation, texting back “stop,” or mailing a letter all work. A collector cannot require that you use one specific channel to opt out. Any robocall or autodialed text after you revoke is a potential TCPA violation.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 227 – Restrictions on Use of Telephone Equipment
How to Stop the Calls
You have two separate tools, and they do different things.
Stop Calls to That Number Only
If you want calls to your cell phone to stop but you’re fine with a letter or a different form of contact, just ask. Under the CFPB’s Debt Collection Rule, a collector cannot contact you through any method you’ve asked them not to use.3eCFR. 12 CFR 1006.14 – Harassing, Oppressive, or Abusive Conduct A verbal request during a call is enough. Be direct: “Do not call this number again.” They can still write to you or try other numbers you haven’t restricted.
Stop All Communication
To shut down contact entirely, you have to send a written notice. The FDCPA requires this request to be in writing; a phone call will not do it for a full cease-communication demand.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692c – Communication in Connection With Debt Collection Include your name, address, any account number you have, and a clear statement that you want all communication to stop. Send it certified mail with return receipt so you can prove delivery.
Once the collector receives your letter, they can only reach out for three narrow reasons: to confirm they received the request and are stopping contact, to tell you they or the original creditor may pursue a specific legal remedy, or to notify you they intend to take a particular action like filing suit.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692c – Communication in Connection With Debt Collection Anything else is a violation.
What Stopping the Calls Doesn’t Do
Silence from the phone is not forgiveness of the debt. A collector who stops calling can still sue you to collect, report the account to the credit bureaus, or sell the debt to another agency that starts the process over. A cease-communication letter controls contact. It doesn’t erase what you owe or any legal remedies the creditor still has.
What a Violation Is Worth
These rules carry real money, which is why collectors generally take them seriously.
Under the FDCPA, you can sue a collector for actual damages plus statutory damages of up to $1,000 per lawsuit. If you win, the collector also pays your attorney’s fees and court costs.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692k – Civil Liability The fee-shifting piece is why consumer rights lawyers will often take these cases with no upfront charge to you.
TCPA damages are per call. Each illegal robocall or autodialed text to your cell phone is worth $500 in statutory damages, and if a court finds the violation was willful, that triples to $1,500 per call.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 227 – Restrictions on Use of Telephone Equipment Twenty robocalls to your cell phone without consent can mean $10,000 to $30,000 in damages from a single account.
Filing a Complaint
If a collector breaks these rules, you can file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at consumerfinance.gov/complaint. Describe the problem, give dates and amounts, and attach what you have, like call logs or letters. The CFPB forwards the complaint to the company, which generally has 15 days to respond.7Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Submit a Complaint You can also complain to the Federal Trade Commission and your state attorney general.
Document everything from the first call. Save voicemails, screenshot your call log with dates and times, and keep copies of any letters you send and receive. That record is what turns a complaint or a lawsuit from an argument into evidence.