Dealing with debt collectors

• You don’t have to talk to them. They’ll try to scare you into paying them money you can’t afford to pay. It’s okay to screen your calls or just hang up.
• Don’t use money you need for rent, food, or other essentials to pay a collection agency.
• Never give a collection agency your personal information.
• Never give a collection agency or other creditor your bank account information or authorization to withdraw money from your bank account.
• If the collection agency is contacting you more than 3 times a week, or in the middle of the night, or threatening you, it is violating the law.

The legal definition of a collection agency is a business or an organization whose main purpose is collecting debts. A lawyer who regularly collects consumer debt is also considered a collection agency under this definition. 

Any business or person whom the law considers to be a collection agency must follow certain state and federal laws that protect people the collection agency is trying to collect from.

The credit or collection office of a business whose main purpose isn’t debt collection, such as the credit office of a department store, car dealership, or bank, doesn’t meet the legal definition of a collection agency. The laws we discuss here don’t apply to them. 

A collection agency must contact you in writing about a debt. If the collection agency first contacts you by phone, ask them to send you verification of the debt in writing.

The first written notice from a collection agency must have all this information:

• The collection agency’s name and address
• The debt amount, including the original debt and any additional costs or interest
• The name of the creditor you owe
• A statement that unless you disagree with (you dispute) the debt within 30 days after getting the notice, the agency will assume the debt is valid
• A statement that the collector will give you the original creditor’s name (if different from the collector), if you ask for it within 30 days
• A statement that if you notify the debt collector in writing within 30 days of getting the notice that you dispute the debt, the collection agency will mail you proof (verification) of the debt

Every communication from a collector must clearly state that they’re trying to collect a debt and will use any information they get from you in their efforts.

If the debt is medical debt there are additional notice requirements. 

Within 30 days of getting the first written notice from the collection agency, you must tell the collection agency in writing that you disagree that you owe any debt. When the collection agency gets this from you, it must stop collection until it sends you its proof that you do owe it.

Keep copies of what you send to the collection agency. Whenever you can, use certified mail, return receipt requested. 

If your income is exempt from garnishment, you should also mention this in all your written correspondence to the collection agency. 

Here are some examples of reasons why you might dispute a debt:

• You don’t believe you owe the debt, or you believe the amount the creditor claims you owe is wrong.
• You paid the debt.
• You had medical coupons. The creditor should have billed the Washington State Health Care Authority.
• You were hospitalized. You told the hospital you couldn’t pay for care. The hospital should have considered payment under a charity care policy.
• You believe collection of the debt is time-barred.

A collection agency must start a legal claim against you by a certain legal deadline, called the statute of limitations. If it doesn’t, the claim is “time-barred.” The collection agency waited too long. It can’t bring the claim now.

The exact deadline depends on the basis type of claim or debt. Most claims based on written contracts governed by Washington law must be started within 6 years of the date of default on the account (usually the date of the first missed payment). Most claims based on unwritten (verbal or oral contracts) must be begun within 3 years of default.  

If you make a payment on the account within the statute of limitations period, the time period restarts. This means that depending on the type of contract, the creditor will get another 6 or 3 years to file a lawsuit. 

For example, Shawn missed a credit card payment in July 2025. The deadline for the credit card company or a collection agency to sue Shawn over the debt is 6 years from the date of default on the account. The company’s deadline to sue is September 1, 2025. If Shawn makes a payment on August 15, 2025, the credit card company has 6 years from the date of Shawn’s next default to file a lawsuit.

If you make a payment after the statute of limitations time has ended (expired), that won’t restart the deadline. 

If the collection agency in the example above doesn’t file a lawsuit before the September 1 deadline, and Shawn makes a payment on September 30, the creditor or collection agency may not ever file a lawsuit.

Under the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you can write the collection agency to tell them to stop communicating with you. This is true even if you do owe the debt. Then the collection agency can only contact you again to tell you

• They’ll stop trying to collect from you
• They plan to take action against you, such as filing a lawsuit

This doesn’t stop the collection agency from suing you. It only stops them from calling and sending you letters.

Your letter to the collection agency must include this information:  

• Your name and address
• The date
• If available, the account number on the collection agency’s statement
• A statement that you're exercising your rights under the FDCPA
• A statement that you want the collection agency to stop calling or writing, or both

If your income is exempt from garnishment, you should also mention this in all your written correspondence to the collection agency.

Keep a copy of this letter. Mail the collection agency the original, and mail the original creditor a copy. You must send the collection agency the letter by U.S. mail. Get proof of delivery from the post office by online tracking or certified mail. Keep a copy of your letter and proof of delivery. 

If, after sending this letter, the collection agency contacts you again, they have violated the law. You can sue the collection agency for money damages and lawyer fees. 

Both Washington State’s Collection Agencies Act and the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibit harassment, false or misleading statements and unfair practices by collection agencies. 

If you believe a collection agency has unreasonably harassed or misled you, you can sue them. You could win damages and lawyer fees.

Here are some examples of violations:

• The collection agency tells or threatens to tell your employer or neighbors about the debt.
• The collection agency calls at hours defined by law as “unreasonable:” 9:00 p.m. - 8:00 a.m. under federal law, 9:00 p.m. –7:30 a.m. under state law.
• The collection agency threatens you with illegal action, such as threatening to take money out of your Social Security check or take other exempt property, or threatening arrest or jail.
• The debt collector communicates with you or anyone in your household in a harassing, intimidating, threatening, or embarrassing way.
• The debt collector communicates with you or your spouse more than 3 times in one week.
• The debt collector sends you notices that deliberately look like government documents or an emergency message.
• The debt collector asks for a postdated check or threatens you with criminal prosecution.
• The debt collector deposits a postdated check before the date on the check. A collector’s acceptance of your postdated check violates the law, unless you had 3 to 10 business days’ notice before the collector deposited the check.

You should try to talk to a lawyer. You can also file a complaint. Agencies taking complaints about these types of violations are:

Department of Licensing
Collection Agency Board
PO Box 9034
Olympia, WA 98507-9034
Phone: 800-451-7985
FAX: 360-750-6699
Email: BLS@dol.wa.gov

Washington State Attorney General
Consumer Protection Division
800 5^th Ave., Suite 2000
Seattle, WA 98104-3188
Phone: 1-800-551-4636
Online Complaint Form

Make sure you have strong proof that the collection agency violated the law. You should:

• Set up a place to keep everything you get from the collection agency, including envelopes.
• Make notes of every phone call from the collection agency, including date, time, content, and names of people involved in the conversations.
• If you learn the collection agency has contacted anyone besides you, make notes of the same information.
• If the stress of dealing with a collection agency causes physical, mental or emotional problems for you, see a counselor or doctor of your choice. Discuss the situation thoroughly with them.