Credit glossary
Regulation F
The CFPB rule at 12 CFR 1006 that carries out the FDCPA, setting detailed limits on debt collector calls, messages, notices and credit reporting.
Regulation F turned general FDCPA standards into specific rules. A collector is presumed to violate the law if it calls more than seven times in seven days about a debt, or within seven days after a phone conversation about it. Calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. are presumed inconvenient. Every email or text must offer a simple way to opt out, and the validation notice follows a set format.
Two provisions touch credit reports and lawsuits directly. A collector can't report a debt to a bureau before it has communicated with you about it, and it can't sue or threaten to sue on a time-barred debt. When you dispute in writing within the validation period, collection has to pause until the collector sends verification.
Guides that go deeper
- What debt collectors can and can't do under the FDCPA and Reg FFederal limits on debt collectors: the 7-in-7 call rule, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. hours, work and social media limits, email opt-outs, and cease letters.
- Debt validation: your right to make a collector prove the debtFederal law gives you 30 days after a collector's validation notice to dispute in writing and force it to pause. How the clock works and what to send.
- The statute of limitations on debt, and how a payment can reset itA statute of limitations limits when a collector can sue, not whether it can ask you to pay. How the clock starts, how it can restart, and what Reg F bans.
Sources
- 12 CFR 1006.14: Harassing, oppressive, or abusive conduct, eCFR
- 12 CFR 1006.6: Communications in connection with debt collection, eCFR
- 12 CFR 1006.34: Notice for validation of debts, eCFR
- 12 CFR 1006.30: Other prohibited practices, eCFR
- 12 CFR 1006.26: Collection of time-barred debts, eCFR
- 12 CFR 1006.38: Disputes and requests for original-creditor information, eCFR
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