The California legislature has enacted supplementary state laws (Cal. Civ. Code §§1788-1788.32, 1812.700-.702) to the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act of 1977 (15 USCA § 1692 et seq.). The state statutes supplement the FDCPA by providing additional consumer protections.

California law is broader than the FDCPA in that it also applies to "creditors" and not just to "collectors." Further, California also prohibits debt collectors from engaging in various types of misrepresentation and defamatory, obscene, embarrassing, threatening, harassing and annoying communications by the debt collector.

In addition, the California statutes, in specified instances, provide consumers with a private cause of action against debt collectors who violate the state's statutes (giving consumers the right to sue offending debt collectors). Moreover, California's statutes provide for the award of attorneys fees to a consumer should that consumer be successful in enforcing his or her rights under the statutes. Any damages awarded under California law are cumulative (in addition) to those awarded to the consumer under other state and federal laws, such as the FDCPA.

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For more information on California debt collection law, click on the links below.

• Civil Code 1788
• What to Do If You Receive a Demand for Payment from a Creditor or Debt Collection Agency (PDF)
• Summary of Fair Debt Collection Practices Statutes (State and Federal) (PDF)
• Collection Agencies (California Attorney General)
• Other Legal Resources
• California Courts

Federal Law: Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)

The FDCPA is a federal law that provides residents of all states with considerable rights and protections against abusive, unfair and deceptive debt collection practices by debt collectors. Examples of debt collection practices prohibited by the FDCPA include using profane language, lying and calling a debtor at work if the debt collector knows the employer disapproves. The debt collector must also protect the debtor’s privacy by not disclosing the debt to others such as friends, family members or co-workers.

A debt collector, as defined in the FDCPA, is anyone who regularly collects debts on behalf of an original creditor. Original creditors, such as credit card companies and banks, are not considered debt collectors when they attempt to collect debts owed directly to them. Therefore, original creditors are not covered under the FDCPA.

The FDCPA covers only consumer debt, which includes personal, family and household debt, but not business debt or any debt incurred for business purposes. Common types of consumer debt are credit card debt, automobile loans, home loans, utility bills and medical debt.

For more information on the FDCPA, including what debt collectors can and cannot do and what you can do if you believe a debt collector violated your rights under the FDCPA, please visit our FDCPA information page.