Cease and Desist Harassment Letter [Sample]

If this occurs, the debtor may write a cease and desist harassment letter, requesting or insisting that they halt harassing communication. 

Harassment can take the form of calls to the consumer five to ten times per day in some circumstances. The calls could happen at any time of day or night, including during working hours.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) was created by congress to regulate debt collection agencies’ practices. If the debt collector is calling the consumer at work, they must stop if they receive a phone call from the consumer requesting them to stop. 

If the debtor is contacted at home, the debtor must send the debt collector a cease and desist harassment letter. It is legal for a collection agency to collect money owed to them, but it is illegal for them to threaten and harass the debtor. Calling debtors two to three times a week is one of the most effective debt collection strategies.

Debtors Rights

According to the FDCPA, debtors have the right to force a debt collection agency to stop contacting them. While this may be a short-term solution for an irritating problem, it may cause more trouble for the debtor in the long-term. It is recommended only to send this type of letter if the debtor has to.

It could make the debt collector angry and make his or her job more difficult. If they cannot contact the consumer by phone, they may resort to taking legal action. 

They could also decide to sell the debt to another collection agency. For one thing, the letter could increase the chance the collection agency will sue and, since it stops all communication, the consumer may not know what other steps the collection agency intends to take.

Not all creditors have to stop when a cease and desist harassment letter is received. The original creditor can still contact the debtor even if he or she has sent a letter asking them to stop. Original creditors are not bound by the FDCPA.

One thing debtors should consider before sending a cease and desist harassment letter is that the creditor could stop trying to collect the debt, and this will cause a negative result on the credit report of the debtor. It would be much better to have a repayment agreement with the creditor.

Some tips for writing a cease and desist harassment letter:

• The letter should be neat and easy to read. Preferable typed and printed from a computer. The instructions need to be legible or the agency will possibly discard them.

• The letter should not contain the phone number of the debtor, as the whole point is to stop the calls.

• The letter should be mailed to the last address or collection agency listed on the latest notice. It should be addressed to a specific person and not To Whom It May Concern.

• The letter should be sent certified mail with return receipt requested because this means someone at the agency has to sign that the letter was received.

• Copies of all correspondence should be kept including a log of the time, date and place of all phone calls.

• The debtor should continue to open his or her mail to see if the agency has sent any updates on their collection process.

• If the letter does not stop the agency from calling, the debtor should take the issue to the next level and inform their state’s Attorney General’s office.

Below is a sample cease and desist harassment letter to a collection agency. It is written as a formal business letter and sent by certified mail with a return receipt requested.