To stop debt collector calls and contacts, send a letter telling them to stop. After that, they can only send you a final letter saying they will stop or that the debt may be collected by legal or court action. That's all. There is one drawback to sending a letter to stop debt collector calls and other collection contacts: the debt collector may file a lawsuit against you to collect the debt. However, if the debt is small, some debt collectors will not sue because they figure it is not worth their time. There is no good way to tell in advance if a collector will sue or not.

Before you send letter to stop debt collector calls and contacts, you should first send the debt dispute letter (this sample letter is in our library; be sure to send it on time). Once you send the debt dispute letter, the debt collector cannot legally contact you again UNTIL AFTER they give you the information you asked for in that letter.

If a debt collector contacts you BEFORE they give you all the information your debt dispute letter asked for, OR even if they send the information but you don't want them to contact you again, the "stop debt collector calls and contacts " letter should make them stop. If they contact you again AFTER you send a letter telling them to stop, your next step is to contact an attorney. We provide a free consultation to California residents who have had this problem; you can reach us at the Law Firm of Shewry & Van Dyke, LLP, at (888) 910-3328 [toll-free].

We have prepared a free, simple Stop Debt Collector Calls and Contacts Letter you can fill in (handwriting or typing are both ok) and use to stop a debt collector from calling, writing, or leaving messages for you:

You can open or download it from either of these links:

• MS Word formatted Stop Contacting Me Letter (you can replace the blanks with your own info)
• Adobe Acrobat PDF formatted Stop Contacting Me Letter (handwrite or type info into blanks)

Photocopy the Letter and Mail it to the Debt Collector. When you have filled in the letter:
1. Photocopy it and put your copy in a place where you won't lose it
2. Mail the original letter to the debt collector.
3. You can mail it "Certified / Return Receipt Requested," but you don't have to. This costs more for postage, but gives you proof that you mailed it.
4. If the debt collector contacts you again after you send this letter, if you are a California resident you can call The Law Firm of Shewry & Van Dyke, LLP for a free, courteous, and understanding consultation at (888) 910-3328 [toll-free]. We can help you.

If you are contacted about a different debt, then you must send a second letter to stop debt collectors from contacting you about that one. The first letter won't stop contacts about the second debt.

We can be reached by telephone Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. We are glad to provide you with a telephone consultation at no charge. But please remember that for us to become your attorneys, we must first have a written attorney-client agreement signed by both of us. We look forward to helping you.