Stopping Unlawful Debt Collection in Texas

Fact-checked against primary sources October 3, 2026

A debt collector in Texas may not threaten you with arrest for an unpaid consumer debt without proper court proceedings, swear at you, call over and over to harass you, collect fees unless they are expressly authorized by the agreement creating the obligation or legally chargeable to you, or pretend to be a lawyer or a court. Those limits come from Texas Finance Code chapter 392, and a federal law, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), adds contact limits and a written dispute process for collectors who work on other people's debts.

Which law covers which collector

Question	Texas Finance Code chapter 392	Federal FDCPA
What debts	"Consumer debt": an obligation, or alleged obligation, "primarily for personal, family, or household purposes" (392.001(2))	"Debt": a consumer's obligation where the subject of the deal was primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, whether or not reduced to judgment (1692a(5))
Who is a collector	Any person who "directly or indirectly engages in debt collection" (392.001(6)). A separate, narrower term, "third-party debt collector," borrows the federal definition (392.001(7))	A business whose principal purpose is collecting debts, or a person who regularly collects debts owed to another. A creditor's own employees collecting in the creditor's name are excluded (1692a(6))
Written dispute rights	Against a third-party debt collector (392.202)	Within the 30-day validation window (1692g)

The Texas definition is not limited to third-party agencies: section 392.001(6) covers any person who "directly or indirectly engages in debt collection." A few Texas rules apply only to third-party debt collectors, including a $10,000 surety bond filed with the Texas secretary of state (392.101) and the dispute procedure in 392.202.

What Texas law forbids

Threats or coercion (section 392.301)

A collector may not threaten or use violence or other criminal means to harm a person or property, falsely accuse anyone of fraud or another crime, or threaten that you will be arrested for nonpayment "without proper court proceedings." It may not threaten seizure, repossession or sale of your property without proper court proceedings, threaten a criminal charge when you have not broken a criminal law, or threaten "to take an action prohibited by law." Once you have notified the collector in writing that a debt is disputed, it may not tell anyone else that you are wilfully refusing to pay a nondisputed debt.

Harassment and abuse (section 392.302)

The statute names four practices: profane or obscene language, or language meant to abuse the hearer; calls where the caller hides their name with intent to annoy, harass or threaten; making you pay for a call or message without first disclosing who is sending it; and causing a phone to ring repeatedly or continuously, or making repeated calls, "with the intent to harass a person at the called number."

Unfair or unconscionable means (section 392.303)

A collector may not collect interest, fees or charges unless they are "expressly authorized by the agreement creating the obligation or legally chargeable to the consumer." It also may not get you to sign a statement that a debt was for "necessaries of life" when it was not.

Fraudulent or misleading statements (section 392.304)

This section lists 19 banned practices. Among them: using a name other than the collector's true name; misstating "the character, extent, or amount of a consumer debt"; falsely claiming to be connected to a government agency; sending papers made to look like court documents; sending a letter that "purports to be from an attorney or law firm if it is not"; and claiming a debt will grow by attorney's fees or other charges that no contract or statute allows.

The federal overlay

For collectors that meet the FDCPA definition, federal law adds rules of its own.

Timing and place. Without your consent, a collector must assume the convenient time to contact you is after 8 a.m. and before 9 p.m. your local time. It may not contact you directly once it knows a lawyer represents you on the debt, unless the lawyer fails to respond within a reasonable time or consents to direct contact. It also may not contact you at work if it knows your employer prohibits those calls (1692c(a)).
Stopping contact. If you tell a collector in writing that you refuse to pay, or that you want it to stop contacting you, it must stop, except to say it is ending its efforts or to notify you of a specific remedy it or the creditor may use (1692c(c)).
Banned conduct. Section 1692d lists six kinds of harassment, section 1692e lists 16 false or misleading representations, and section 1692f lists eight unfair practices, including collecting any amount not "expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law" and contacting you about a debt by post card.

Validation notice and the 30-day dispute window

Within five days after first contacting you, unless the information was in that first communication or you have paid the debt, a federally covered collector must send a written notice with the amount of the debt, the creditor's name, and statements explaining your right to dispute within thirty days and to ask for the original creditor's name and address (1692g(a)). If you dispute in writing within that period, or ask for the original creditor, the collector must stop collecting the disputed amount until it mails you verification or the creditor's name and address. Collection during the 30 days may not "overshadow" your dispute rights (1692g(b)). Not disputing a debt is not an admission that you owe it (1692g(c)).

The Texas dispute procedure

Under 392.202, you may tell a third-party debt collector in writing that an item in its file is inaccurate. It must stop collection until an investigation determines the accurate amount. A collector that investigates must send a written answer not later than the 30th day after receiving your notice, and an admitted error must be corrected not later than the fifth business day.

Old debts and identity theft

A debt buyer may not sue or start arbitration on a consumer debt after the limitations period in Civil Practice and Remedies Code 16.004 or Business and Commerce Code 3.118 has run. A later payment or reaffirmation does not revive the claim, and a debt buyer collecting a time-barred debt must include a printed notice that begins "THE LAW LIMITS HOW LONG YOU CAN BE SUED ON A DEBT" (392.307). Our guide to Texas deadlines to sue covers limitations periods more broadly.

If you give a creditor or collector a court order declaring you a victim of identity theft, it must stop trying to collect the debt that resulted from the theft not later than the seventh business day after receiving notice (392.308). The section does not apply to a home loan or to collecting a judgment already obtained (392.308(b)).

What a court can award

Under Texas law, a person may sue for an injunction and for actual damages. A person who wins is entitled to attorney's fees and costs, and a win on the bond, dispute or "wilfully refusing to pay" violations carries not less than $100 for each violation (392.403). A violation of chapter 392 is also a deceptive trade practice actionable under the Texas DTPA (392.404), which our consumer protection guide explains. A collector has a defense for a bona fide error made despite reasonable procedures (392.401). If a court finds a suit under 392.403 was brought in bad faith or for purposes of harassment, it must award the defendant attorney's fees and costs (392.403(c)).

Under the FDCPA, a collector is liable for actual damages plus additional damages the court allows up to $1,000 in an individual case, and costs with a reasonable attorney's fee (1692k(a)). If the court finds a suit was brought in bad faith and for the purpose of harassment, it may award the collector attorney's fees and costs (1692k(a)(3)). A suit must be brought "within one year from the date on which the violation occurs" (1692k(d)).

If a collector sues you instead, the case may be filed in justice court. The Texas Rules of Civil Procedure define a "debt claim case" as a suit to recover a debt brought by a financial institution, an assignee of a claim, a debt collector or collection agency, or a person or entity primarily in the business of lending money at interest (Rule 500.1(b)). The rule caps the claim at $20,000, not counting statutory interest and court costs but counting attorney fees, if any. The small claims and justice court guide describes how those courts run.

Where to report a collector

The Texas Attorney General's General complaint form covers false, misleading or deceptive business practices, and the office lists "unlawful debt collections" among its examples. The office warns that under Texas law your complaint is open to the public, that it cannot give legal advice, and that unless it needs more information you may not hear from it again.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accepts complaints about debt collection by phone at (855) 411-2372 or online and sends them to the company for a response. It says most companies respond within 15 days.

Legal aid offices and lawyer referral services in the region are listed on find legal help. Debt collection sits alongside unpaid wages and tenant issues in the Your Rights guides, and this page is one of the North Texas disputes and settlements guides that explain Texas statutes in plain English.